At the University of California Los Angeles – April 24 1967
“Mr Chancellor, members of the UCLA Community, honored guests,
It is with great pleasure that we accepted the invitation to participate in the cerimonies of this anniversary of the University of California which next year will be at its 100th.
One of the first words of the Creator was ‘let there be light‘, words on which this very institution is established. It is following this worthy aim that the university has contributed so significantly to the advancement of physical, nuclear and biological science, winning for itself a considerable degree of esteem among the institutions of higher learning.
The foresightedness of this university in concentrating its energies in the study of the developing societies of Africa is among the virtues which have won respect for it as an academic institution. As for Us, it is precisely with this hope that We initiated the Prize Trust named after Us, among the early recipients of which is your own professor Wolf Leslau.
By far the major problem confronting the human race at present is the question of peace and survival: if that problem is dealt with successfully by the present generation, it may be that the future shall have to deal with spreading the benefits of human civilization to the masses.
Long before the term ‘university’ came into usage, it had been the tradition among scholars not only to travel from place to place and acquire knowledge, but also to share that acquisition with their fellow scholars. Here, although it has not been free from moment of controversy, the efforts of the State of California to make higher education universal deserve commendation.
For our own country we recognized as many as 40 years ago, when We assumed the Regency, that the strength of a Nation must lie in the education of its citizens. We saw that a country would be as powerful as its least educated member. Thus, while many were scorning the benefits of modern education, we caused as many schools be opened as our resources would allow, and as many children to attend as their parents would permit. Those who desplayed the desire to learn and whose parents were farsighted enough to let them study, are some in places of authority.
However, no sooner had this gigantic task started that the Second World War brought an apparent end to our endeavors: the schools were closed, the youth either left the country or remained within for patriotic activities, and thus brought upon themselves the wrath of the enemy. The completion of that destructive war brought forth renewed efforts on Our part, and to show to our nation the importance which We attach to education, We assumed the portfolio of Education and acted as the Minister for a number of years. Behold, today the number of schools is beyond count. Many professional schools are established in the nation, and our labour for education has reached a relative apex by the establishment of Our own university.
In Our lifetime we have seen many changes. In 1931, when We first promulgated a written constitution for Ethiopia, many of the nations of Africa were under foreign rule. Today, Africa is free and demanding its rightful place in the community of nations. This and many other changes impress Us, and they cause Us to be thankful, but We do not accept them as the ultimate destiny for Our continent or Our nation. Our defiance of the present as the ultimate destiny for Our content may appear visionary, but no more so than the visions We have lived to see fulfilled. Obviously there are many problems which confront Us in Our task ahead: the forest, water, mineral and other natural resources of Our country need to be extensively exploited, but the present University products are but drop in an ocean. We need many universities in the future.
The place of these universities in young and developing societies is rather unique. A university is not only the instrument by which modern technocrats capable of exploiting the natural resources of a nation are produced. It is also the medium by which the society as a whole is exposed to modern technology and international culture. Universities gave meaning to the past, a purpose for the present, and a goal to the future.
They must not seek acceptability by cloaking themselves in a foreign road: they must rather interpret africanis and build a future society on a present firm foundation. Universities which the above mentioned duties are required, must not only perform the conventional tasks of institutions of higher learning: they must also be able to attract staff, mature and dedicated, capable of solving Africa’s problems in Africa’s own way. Universities must be more than expensive equipment, they must be more than voluminous libraries, they must be more than impressive buildings. They must center around a core of men dedicated to a common cause, the accumulation, dispersion and expansion of human knowledge.
It is precisely in this invaluable treasure that we should like to challenge the University of California. The traditionally generous assistance of the government of the United States to education is known the world over, and we hope it shall continue with larger shares for the developing countries. But universities by themselves can do far more than what they have done in the past. Sabaticals, research leads, research projects, interchange of quality staff, rigorous training of future staff: these and many others are areas in which you could be of assistance to Us.
Some of you students close the first chapter of your life and begin another one. You are now leaving the world of the possible and moving into the world of the probable. To you, let Us leave few words of exhortation. A man comes into the world naked, and he is designed to take away nothing. What makes one famous, or the other notorious, or what makes many mediocre, is what he has done or failed to do during his sojourn. Many of you students have most of your life before you. Will this world have been better because you passed through it ? Will the causes of world peace, of social justice, of human understanding have been served or will they have gone wanting ? It is evident that the world in which you find yourself today is the product of conscientious hard work of your forefathers: they died that you might have life, and pass that life on to your children. Let us hope that you, the students of 1967, shall accept that challenge.
Finally, We wish to thank the people of California, and especially of Los Angeles, for this tumultuous reception during Our private visit. We trust that you also shall someday visit Ethiopia. Long live Ethio-American friendship.” #QHS
