f one were to ask people on the streets of any African capital to name a union of states that readily comes to mind, they are likely to mention the United Nations, the US and possibly the European Union. And the African Union? Oh yes, yes, I have heard of it, a few might say. And yet the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) — as the African Union (AU) was called in 1963 when it was set up in Addis Ababa with 30 signatories — now includes virtually all the African states and will be 50 years old tomorrow.