WHEN THE EMPEROR, HAILE SELASSIE I, CAME VISITING,I WAS THERE TO WELCOME HIM

Haile Selassie I (“Power of the Trinity"(23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. The heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th century, and from there by tradition back to King Solomon and Queen Makeda, Empress of Axum, known in the Bible as the Queen of Sheba. Haile Selassie is a defining figure in both Ethiopian and African history.

Haile Selassie

His internationalist views led to Ethiopia becoming a charter member of the United Nations, and his political thought and experience in promoting multilateralism and collective security have proved seminal and enduring. Haile Selassie is revered as the returned Messiah of the Bible, God incarnate, among the Rastafari movement, the number of followers of which is estimated between 200,000 and 800,000.Begun in Jamaica in the 1930s, the Rastafari movement perceives Haile Selassie as a messianic figure who will lead a future golden age of eternal peace, righteousness, and prosperity.

Fom the right-TY Danjuma, Emperor Selassie, General Gowon, Ukpabi Asika(the then East Central State Administrator and Ngozi welcoming the Emperor .

Destiny has its way,and so in January 1972 Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visited Nigeria. He had mediated in the Nigerian/Biafran civil war that had ended just two years earlier. I was told he wanted to see for himself that the ‘NO Victor, No Vanquished’ policy embarked upon after the civil war by the Nigeria government was really and truly being implemented in the former Biafran enclave.

Anyway, dressed in orange poplin suit and skinny as a pole I set off to welcome him with a bunch of marigolds, daffodils and daisies. I remember my speech - “I welcome to Nigeria, His Royal Highness, the great Emperor of all Ethiopia, Elect of God, and the Lion of Judah, Emperor Haile Selassie.”

The 24 carat gold coin in question

I remember a small man, a warm kiss and a gold coin being pressed into my hand.

In this picture(Above) from the right-TY Danjuma, Emperor Selassie, General Gowon, Ukpabi Asika(the then East Central State Administrator . Remember we had an administrator while every other federated unit, had a governor) and someone else. I guess nobody wanted any reminders of the army or military as the reason why an administrator was bestowed on the East Central State, in this war traumatized region.

He officially opened the Enugu Orthopedic Hospital at the site of the former Eastern Nigerian Governor’s Lodge. The hospital was established for maimed war victims and was named The Haile Selassie I Institute for Orthopedic, Plastic and Ophthalmic Surgery until some years later, when a governor renamed it.

Emperor Haile Selassie had a rather checkered and complicated history in Ethiopia, but he was a big champion of the African Union and was an honest broker during the civil war.

My 24 carat gold coin still has pride of place in my jewelry box.


Adapted from the piece- The Emperor and I by Ngozi Achebe.