Omar al-Bashir

Born on January 1, 1944, Omar al-Bashir is the current president of Sudan. al-Bashir's rise to power began in the late 1980's after leading a military coup against the previous government. He's had plenty of military experience; having served in both the Sudanese Army and the Egyptian Army. After leading a successful military coup and appointing himself president in 1993, al-Bashir began a campaign in which he:

Weakened and Disbanded all rival political parties
Created a new currency for the country of Sudan
Won a Presidential Election in which he was the only candidate allowed to run.

Al-Bashir has reigned over Sudan during a period of civil war that has killed over a million people and has left many Sudanese displaced.

Currently, the dictator is wanted by the International Criminal Court for a number of crimes including crimes against humanity, genocide, and various war crimes.

Africa has seen most of its leaders remaining in power for the longest times, and it seems as if the trend will continue well into the future. Although in recent years, we've seen certain African dictators successfully be removed from power, there are still quite a number of them that are able to circumvent the "rules" and continue to rule their respective nations. Only time will tell us of al-Bashir and Sudan's future.

Please read this article first published on The Spirit of uMunthu........

''Surely there is something about African presidential seat that only people like Museveni, Muluzi, Wade and Obasanjo can explain. However, it has nothing to do with experience or development, as Museveni and Muluzi, respectively, want the world to believe. It has everything to do with self-serving politics of the continent.

While in the West politicians are not corrupt-free, UK’s MPs expenses scandal is the best example. Yet if people in the West want to get filthy rich they get into banking, stock trading, hedge funds etc., in Africa you join politics. This is what incentivise African politicians, particularly presidents to cling on to power.

Yes, experience is desirable in many aspects of our lives and activities but not with governance. Unless if we decide to ignore traditional forms of democratic governance, and adopt chief executive style of leadership – with one man calling the shots. Presidents come to power without experience of that position anyway, unless it is a comeback, which is unlikely in places where term limits apply.

To have good governance and functioning governments you need a vibrant and independent civil service and civil society, independent police, in the service of the people not the state, separation of powers between the arms of government and respect for the rule of law. It’s presidents like Museveni who have convinced themselves of their expertise that compromise good governance because they do not listen to anyone and this underestimate the rule of law."

 http://jimmykainja.co.uk/no-mr-president-you-dont-need-26-years-in-power-to-become-an-expert-governance/

"The problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power"

In my opinion, African leaders have put on a mask with a mind that leadership is all about non quid proquo. Such acqua caimeres should be erased from the mind of these cocooned leaders. 

What Africans need is; fresh minds, new ideas and elevate the economic conditions that Africa faces at large. This will enhance broad competition for the top position, i.e, leadership..

"The old think the young mind is old". It's a vague idea; In this case they term leadership as security to groom and protect for the future generation, usually, some old generation! This is an old and backward barbaric way of leadership

Leadership is not all about delivering but promotion of  peace at large.

In summary leadership change with new ideas  but not old mind.is about changing the social,economical and political well-being of the people.Change the mind,renew it  and develop it, is equal to success.                                                                                                                                               

Lack of Constitutional Change!!

There are various reasons why African big men decide to hold on to power instead of serving their respected terms and leaving office. One of the main causes of this is due to the lack of constitutional change. It is important to note that most African leaders are also independence leaders who came into power immediately after independence. As a result, they adopted constitutions that allowed them to take up power with no envisioned term limits. Once they were firmly in power, they have entrenched themselves and their cronies into the system to a level which allows them to influence government policy as well as public opinion to the point where the idea of a constitutional referendum is not welcome. However, in the last decade or so, many countries have been able to form and mobilize strong oppositions that have successful agitated for constitutional change coupled with term limits. This has been the case in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and many other countries. The opposition in Zimbabwe has also been pushing hard for term limits in an effort to ouster President Robert Mugabe who has been in power since 1980. In Uganda however, President Yoweri Museveni has been rather successful at ensuring that term limits stay out of the constitution by brutally suppressing the opposition. He is rumored to be grooming his older son to take over from him, much to the opposition of everyone including major figures in the military.

YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI

YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI

 

   When Idi Amin came to power in Uganda in 1971, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni founded the Front for National Salvation, which helped overthrow Amin in 1979. After he lost an election to be widely considered rigged, in January 1986, Museveni declared himself president of Uganda. He was elected to the post in 1996, 2001 and 2006, making notable economic and social improvements to Uganda along the way.   Yoweri Museveni has ruled the East African nation for 26 years, more than half of its post-colonial history. A charismatic former rebel commander, Museveni seized power in 1986, decrying other African leaders who overstayed their welcome. Museveni points to many achievements in a country with a troubled past. But today, more and more Ugandans say their president has grown heavy-handed as he clings to power. Despite this criticism, Museveni has dug in his heels. Just before he won a fourth five-year term last year, Museveni changed the constitution to loosen term limits. In an interview with Al-Jazeera at the time, Museveni was characteristically defiant, deflecting arguments that he had been in power too long.   Museveni sees himself as an aging revolutionary, a historic figure who fought in the bush and overthrew dark forces, and whose mission to transform Uganda is not finished, despite the fact he's been around for a quarter-century and is pushing 70. No one denies Museveni's accomplishments. Under his long rule, security has improved, the army is more disciplined, and the economy has gained traction. Today, more children go to school, the fight against HIV/AIDS has made progress, and Washington considers him a key regional partner in fighting terrorists in Somalia. "Uganda has made great strides," says Ugandan political scientist Frederick Golooba. "But, having said that, I think that we have reached a point where Uganda no longer needs Museveni. Most people would say that."  Some of the reasons I propose that cause him to stay in power for long are similar to many other African leaders.The sacrifice that he made to gain power are great and to me it seems that Museveni feels like Uganda owes him a debt of sorts,for all that he has done for the country hence his extended reign in power.

 REASONS WHY THEY OVERSTAY IN POWER


Most African leaders having seen failure under their watch, in many occasions opt to take up projects that will leave them as the biggest beneficiaries from public resources. Following which, protecting these unlawful acts and retaining the power over the public resources becomes their main agenda.
In light of such scenarios, Africa has seen most of its leaders remaining in power for the longest times, undeterred. In addition, some openly fronting their immediate family members or within their circles of the elite to take over the leadership positions hence gaining support from their family members which contributes to their overstay in power.

has democratic governance been sidekicked?

Despite the reign of democratic governance in Africa,some leaders have clutched onto political power for decades,using state  instruments to prolong their regimes against constitutional provisions.\

The common strategies used by these leaders to hold on to power has in most cases been through;

1. Imposing  restrictions on political competition
2. The use of force and
3. Manipulating the constitution such as amending term limit.

They are however advised that clinging onto power is no longer wise  hence they should announce their intentions to step down before they are forced out of leadership by their very own citizens.Likewise,treating leadership as a 'right' or as family property is no longer a viable strategy.This will no longer be entertained by the African people.

For many decades,African leaders have manipulated and abused their positions to stay in power.unfortunately,they still find support from western governments even through democratic governance is supposed to be the core of their engagement with African nations.This is not only hypocritical but it also sends the wrong signal to the Africans across the region.This poses the question 'are the western governments overlooking the demands and procedures associated with democracy'?