DESPOTISM, THE CURSE OF AFRICA - by Emeka Umeagbalasi of Klinreports.com!

"It is alarmingly disturbing that when the Europe and the North Americans are busy, finding their way to the moon, Africans are busy heading back to the forest (cave)." Since the immortal statement above, was made by the late Julius Nyerere of the Republic of Tanzania in 1994, the greater number of South American and Southeast Asian States had joined the North American and the European States in the league of credible and stable democracies or the comity of civilized nations. A greater number of African States, in the contrary, have chosen to remain in the comity of dynastic or hegemonic democracies. The two-thirds of the Africa’s 53 States are still ruled by tyrants, despots or autocrats.

It is based on the above scenario, that we condemn, unreservedly, the recent emergence of Mr. Ali Ben Bongo in the last presidential “election” in the oil-rich Republic of Gabon. Mr. Ben Bongo is the groomed successor-son of the late President Omar Bongo, who died in office in June 2009, after spending 42 years in power. Mr. Ali Ben Bongo, a former foreign and defense minister, under his father’s reign, was controversially declared “winner” by the Gabonese electoral commission on Thursday, 03/09/09, after winning 42 percent of the total votes cast, not even up to fifty-percent? His father, Omar Bongo came to power, via a junta coup in 1967. He survived many coup attempts. And before his death in office, he had manipulated the Gabonese constitution so as to be allowed limitless stay in power.

On 1st day of September 2009, Colonel Murmmar al-Ghaddafi of Libya marked his 40th year in power. He came to power with his Islamic-Arabic Socialism and Nationalism in 1969. He had been linked to several horrendous killings around the world; including the 1989 Lockerbie Aircraft bombing that killed 259 passengers. Today, Colonel al-Ghaddafi is the chairman of the African Union and one of his sons, Mutassim al- Ghaddafi had been groomed to succeed him, in the evident of his demise.

Similar sad situations are found in Egypt, where President Hussein Mubarak had been in power since 1981 (28 years), after the death of President Anwal Saddat. President Mubarak had groomed his son, Gamal Mubarak as his successor. He had ruled Egypt with emergency powers since 1997. The leaders of Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Congo Republic (Azadine Ben Ali, Obiang Mbasago and Denis Sesseou Nguessou) have ruled their countries for up to, or nearly 30 years, having come to power between 1977 and 1979, President Jose Edwardo Dos Santos of Angola had been in power since 1978 (31 years).

Those who came to power in the 80s are: President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe,1980(29 years), President Paul Biya of Cameroon, 1982 (27 years), President Yuweri Museveni of Uganda, 1986 (23 years) and President Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan, 1989 (20 years). President Blaise Campore of Burkina Faso also came to power in 1987 (21 years). The 1990s Presidents are: Idris Derby, Chad (1990 or 19 years), Paul Kagame, Rwanda (1994 or 15 years), Isaias Afoweki, Eritrea (1993 or 16 years), Mr. Menes Zenewi of Ethiopia (1992 or 17 years) and Yahaya Jammeh, Gambia (1994 or 15 years). From-father-to-son dynastic rulership had been instituted in the Republics of Togo and Democratic Republic of Congo, while from-military (khaki) - to- civilian (agbada) rulership is in vogue in the Republics of Central African Republic and Mauritania.

In Niger Republic, President Mamadou Tanja, whose final term of office is expected to end by December 2009, had assumed emergency powers, and dissolved the constitutional court and the parliament, all in his bid to manipulate the Nigerien Constitution so as to stay in power in perpetuity. Nigeria’s case is not far from being the worst. Apart from the fact that the present regime of Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua is criminality-tolerant, electoral brigandage, political and economic banditry have been scientifically entrenched in Nigeria’s body polity. The WADATA House has become the Center for Research and Implementation of Armed Robbery, Bullion Van Robbery, Bank Robbery, Unsound/ Non-collateral Bank Loans and Science of Election Rigging.

In all, seventeen (17) African ruling despots have stayed in power for 431 years. Where some of them had died their sons, groomed to succeed them, have taken over through the artificial ballot legitimacy. A case in point is Mr. Ali Ben Bongo of Republic of Gabon. For lack of credible criteria or parameters, African Union has become worse than the proscribed Organization of African Unity, which died in 2001/2002.

Now, “when the EU, the OAS, the ASEAN, and even the CIS, are busy entrenching credible electoral, economic and political democracy in their body polity, African States, with few exceptions, are busy surrendering themselves to the shackles and manacles of rabid dictatorship, dynastic despotism and unprecedented white collar criminality”.