US President Barack Obama gestures at a joint press conference with
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa on July
27, 2015. AFP PHOTO | ZACHARIAS ABUBEKER
“Africa’s democratic progress is threatened when leaders refuse
to step aside when their term ends. It has been an extraordinary
privilege for me to serve as President of the United States.
I
cannot imagine a greater honour or a more interesting job. I love my
work. But under our constitution I cannot run again. I actually think
I’m a pretty good president, I think if I run, I’d win.
But
I can’t. No one is above the law. Not even the president. I’ll be
honest with you I’m looking forward to life after being president. I
won’t have such a big security detail all the time. I can take a walk.
Spend time with my family.
Visit
Africa more often. The point is that I don’t understand why people want
to stay so long. Especially when they’ve got a lot of money.
Nobody should be President for life.” – President Obama at the African Union.
Who
was Obama speaking of? Well, they are so many. Where does one start?
Chad? Sudan? Uganda? Cameroon? Zimbabwe? Republic of the Congo? Angola?
All
ranging from a quarter of a century in power to the longest tenured –
Mbasongo of Equatorial Guinea - Rocking 35 years, 9 months. Obama
wonders why they hang onto power.
Well, probably because being president in a dictatorship is very different from the kind of job Obama has.
AIR FORCE ONE
He
has to manage interests and constantly try and get both houses to work
with him. There’s a reason he went grey. Being the US president is not
that much fun even though you get toys like the beast and Air Force One
to play in. Much better to be a president with absolute power. You don’t
lobby anyone.
You don’t manage
interests. You don’t even have to give a decent economy to the
electorate because you rig every election. Why do they hang on? Pretty
simple.
If they let go they will probably end up in jail.
I
wouldn’t want that job. Being president must be the loneliest job in
the world. There must be less stressful ones to do. I have a few
photographer friends that easily command upwards of Sh20,000 an hour.
They’re booked for weeks at a time.
I
have another friend whose job involves visiting the most idyllic places
in Kenya alongside tourists who want a guide. You are paid to go on
holiday?
Sweet! Freelance writing is also a pretty cool gig. You work from the comfort of your home.
The
choices one can make these days in terms of career are so different
from when I was in school. Back then we were told that the people who
excelled in sciences were the people of the future.
We
were told to be doctors. In many ways that is still the top of the food
chain but unfortunately in this country, many of them get paid way less
than they deserve.
As an employer, I
look for people that have a broad knowledge base. People who can
collaborate to solve problems. Is there anything worse than an employee
that does not communicate effectively and think critically? Those
debating skills are found mostly with people that did humanities. They
are well read. Exposed.
It’s time we
stopped looking down on them in favour of sciences. Perhaps if the
dictators I mentioned earlier had studied philosophy, history, classics,
literature, cultures and languages, religious studies, music or
linguists they would have a more cultured approach to leadership.
They’d know not to be the last to leave the party. Especially when that party is the African Dictator’s Round Table.
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