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'?