Cracks of African Leadership

I recently listened to a BBC Africa Have Your Say Programme where the topic of discussion was “why do African leaders always want to cling to power?”
This, I guess, was in the wake of unpleasant news that Niger President Mamadou Tandja, had tampered with that country’s constitution to allow him stay longer in office.
Indeed, one of the most serious cracks of leadership in Africa is the greed of African leaders to remain in power forever. But why is this so? One would really be tempted to ask this question.
Usually, African leaders insist on remaining in power because they fear from being held accountable for the political crimes they committed and for the social and economic mess these leaders create when they are in power.
Another problem with African leaders, and perhaps the main one, is that they cannot just bear the thought of parting ways with the life of luxury that goes with the status of the president.
They thus create loopholes and perform all unimaginable maneuverings so that they should not release the lid of power. Often times, they try to find cunning ways of elongating their stay in office.
So, the story of one Mamadou Tandja is not one that can surprise any keen follower of African history. If one can dig deep into the annals of African history, one can find out that Africa has had a litany of power hungry leaders. .
Several presidents—including Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, Idriss Deby of Chad, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Paul Biya of Cameroon and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda—all secured constitutional amendments allowing them to stand for a third term in office.
But others, for instance, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Frederick Chiluba, including our own Bakili Muluzi failed in their third term bids, despite arguing that it was the people who insisted they stay in power to continue the 'good work'. Little wonder, after attaining independence— and to the chagrin of many colonialists— a majority of African leaders turned dictators.
Of even more ridiculous to note is the fact that many of the leaders who clung to the echelons of power were champions of liberation.
Take, for example, the Zimbabwean leader Robert Gabriel Mugabe. He is a classic example of a freedom fighter turned dictator. He has been in office since Zimbabwe attained its independence from Britain in 1980.
Of course, we cannot gainsay the fact that some of these leaders came to power through the barrel of the gun. Libyan leader colonel Muammar Gadaffi and the erstwhile president of Nigeria General Sani Abacha epitomize such kind of leaders.
And Gadaffi too, for good reasons or not, has been in office for quite some time now. Recently, I gather, he was celebrating his forty-years in office and his retirement, it seems, is nowhere in sight.
The list of power hungry leaders can go on and on so long it is in Africa. In Gabon, there was Omar Bongo, the hitherto Africa’s longest serving president. In Uganda, the name Yoweri Museveni cannot be separated with that country and before him, there was also Idi Amin who used to take delight in calling himself “His Excellency, the President for Life.”
Such are African leaders who do not care about the needs of their people, economies and development but only have a one-track mind of self-aggrandizement.
Of course, there are a few exceptions of African leaders who demonstrated that they had the welfare of their people at heart when they gave up power peacefully. One such leader in recent history is Nelson Mandela.
President Mandela of South Africa was a statesman who set a good example for African leaders. He ruled South Africa only for five years despite the constitution giving him the mandate to stay on in office for another term.
Of pleasing to note is also the fact that he turned down several persistent calls from many South Africans who wanted him to continue rulling. This spirit lacks in the minds of many African leaders.
Power hungry African leaders, more often than not, give a flimsy excuse that they are acting on pressure from the public. Many, as President Tandja of Niger, say that they want to continue the economic projects they started. Typical!
True, they do sometimes initiate development projects, but can there not be anyone who can continue those projects through their helping hand? One would also ask this question.
Sadly, and it is a fact, Malawi, has had its fair cracks of leadership. I mean the cancer of bad leadership so to speak.
Kamuzu, to say without fear or favour, was made dictator. He ruled for about three decades and if it were not for some well-meaning Malawians, he could have stayed longer than this. It was the same story with Muluzi when he ascended into office.
He too, true to the fashion of most African leaders, tried every trick available in the book to stick to power. He thus brought the third and open term bills that were both thwarted in parliament.
But, perhaps, Muluzi outflanked his African counterparts because he unabashedly wanted to bounce back into power while he was out of office until the Electoral Commission foiled his plans. Shame!
All these scenarios, I think, point to the fact that African leaders do not like the sound of quitting leadership. Tandja is not the first nor will he be the last to scrap off constitutional limits for presidency.
However, the wisdom that these leaders don’t have is that one good quality of leadership is knowing when to leave. In fact, quitting, as one Malawian journalist said, is leading too. The best leaders of African history never demanded extra time, they bowed out when the ovation was loudest. Our current leaders should tap lessons from people like Mandela.


The author is a Media for Development student at Chancellor College.This article appeared in the Daily Times of 02 October 2009.