African Leaders and the President For Life Syndrome
by Susan Enuogbope Majekodunmi
- USA -
As a child growing up in Nigeria, I was familiar with military coups. I would wake up in the morning and on TV a new President in military uniform would state that there had been a coup and he was now our new leader. He would order everyone to stay home until the situation stabilized. Later that night, on the 9pm news, he would reappear to tell us how he was the person to rescue the country from the clutches of the one he seized power from. However, time would show our new leader repeating exactly what he accused his predecessor of doing, many times to an even higher degree. As time passed, it would also become obvious that our new president had no intention of leaving office, ever.
• Despite widespread criticism, Robert Mugabe attended the global food summit in Rome in early June. Photograph by Malcom M. •
In Nigeria, military dictator Sani Abacha, who seized power from his fellow military predecessor, annulled the June 12th, 1993 democratic election of Chief Moshood Abiola, a civilian businessman who, by all accounts, won the election. Abacha refused to give up power and Abiola fled abroad for his safety. However, he was lured back to supposedly take what was rightfully his, only to be swiftly charged with treason and killed while in Abacha's custody. Since I lived close to Abiola's residence at the time, I witnessed the chaos and violence his death caused as many people took to the streets to protest.
