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| Pic, Chathamhouse |
Africa my Africa, when are we going to let go of life presidential
ambitions?
If we were practising monarchy, no one might be complaining but life
presidency haba. The Republic of Congo elections, got me thinking on this life
presidential “thing”. Congo had to abolish the age limit set for presidents
which is 70 to achieve its aim because President Denis Sassou Nguesso is 72. Rwanda is in the process of
amending its constitution to give Kagame a shot at third term. Burundi’s 3rd term
presidential bid plunged the country into political crises. There are other
African countries that have lifetime presidents including Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea Cameroon, Gambia, Uganda, Eritrea, Angola etc. Are there
no longer capable men and women from these countries to lead? According to Daniel
Vencovsky, in Presidential Term Limits in Africa, “the attraction
of power is still strong, and many African leaders are keen to stay in office
for as long as they can.
Nelson
Mandela, would have stayed beyond his one term in office but he did not. Our
political ambitions should not override the interests of our citizens. Let us
all give responsible leadership a chance. What are your opinions?
I have to say i agree with you. It gets me wondering how this relentless sharp hold on power by these males affects male power relations in these African societies. I shudder at the thought!
ReplyDeleteThe issues include and does not end with the fact that power corrupts absolutely. Once tasted, the leaders refuse to give it up and want to die leading. The fact that ytge people can barely have any say allows the leaders to do as they wish. It's unfortunate it's called democracy but really far from it.
ReplyDeleteAfrican leadership is influenced by western colonisation and is rooted in corruption. This is not a problem that could be solved overnight. Nelson left because he did not suffer from the colonial enslavement. He was an activist that despised Western invasion. We need more leaders like him if we have any hope of change. Regards
ReplyDeleteI have said it countless times, there is no true democracy in Africa!
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ReplyDeleteIt's obvious that some African countries should be re-colonised in order to get rid of corruption, which is the major cause of this situation.
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