The organisation was widely derided as a bureaucratic "talking shop" with little power. It struggled to enforce its decisions, and its lack of armed force made intervention exceedingly difficult.
Civil wars in Nigeria and Angola continued unabated for years, and the OAU could do nothing to stop them. The policy of non-interference in the affairs of member states also limited the effectiveness of the OAU. Thus, when
human rights were violated, as in
Uganda under
Idi Amin in the 1970s, the OAU was powerless to stop them. The Organisation was praised by Ghanaian former
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan for bringing Africans together. Nevertheless, critics argue that, in its 39 years of existence, the OAU did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it as a "Dictators' Club" or "Dictators' Trade Union". The OAU was, however, successful in some respects. Many of its members were members of the UN, too, and they stood together within the latter organisation to safeguard African interests – especially in respect of lingering colonialism. Its pursuit of African unity, therefore, was in some ways successful. Total unity was difficult to achieve, however, as the OAU was largely divided. The former French colonies, still dependent on
France, had formed the
Monrovia Group, and there was a further split between those that supported the United States and those that supported the
USSR in the
Cold War of ideologies. The pro-
Socialist faction was led by Ghana's
Kwame Nkrumah, while
Félix Houphouët-Boigny of the
Ivory Coast led the pro-
capitalists. Because of these divisions, it was difficult for the OAU to take action against states involved in internal conflicts because it could rarely reach an agreement on what was to be done. The OAU did play a pivotal role in eradicating
colonialism and white minority rule in Africa. It gave weapons, training and military bases to rebel groups fighting white minority and colonial rule. Groups such as the ANC and PAC, fighting
apartheid, and
ZANU and
ZAPU, fighting to topple the government of
Rhodesia, were aided in their endeavours by the OAU. African harbours were closed to the South African government, and South African aircraft were prohibited from flying over the rest of the continent. The UN was convinced by the OAU to expel South Africa from bodies such as the
World Health Organization. The OAU also worked with the UN to ease refugee problems. It set up the
African Development Bank for economic projects intended to make Africa financially stronger. Although all African countries eventually won their
independence, it remained difficult for them to become totally independent of their former colonisers. There was often continued reliance on the former colonial powers for economic aid, which often came with strings attached: loans had to be paid back at high interest-rates, and goods had to be sold to the aiders at low rates. The US and Soviet Union intervened in post-colonial Africa in pursuit of their own objectives. Help was sometimes provided in the form of
technology and aid-workers. Despite the goodwill and best intentions, the OAU consistently failed at its stated goal - that of the fight to keep "Westerners" (colonialists) out of, and only focus upon, African affairs. The Organisation still heavily depended on Western help (military and economic) to intervene in African affairs, despite African leaders' displeasure at dealing with the international community, especially Western countries. ==Agencies==