A Johannesburg-based commentator and writer with a keen interest in African affairs Tafi Mhak, has made bold statements of Uganda’s president Museveni and Cameroon’s Biya to learn from New Zealand’s Prime minister Jacinda Ardern who announced that she would not seek re-election and would resign by no later than February 7.
Tafi says that Ardern admitted that she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do justice to “the most privileged job anyone could ever have”.
“To this end, she listed her achievements and promised to try and find ways to keep working for New Zealand”,he added.
After six presidential terms, or 37 years in power, he remains indifferent to suggestions that he may be better off passing the job on to someone more capable.
In December 2022, Museveni tried to defend his long tenure as president in an interview with Al Jazeera, claiming he is in government supported by the people every five years.
Tafi says Museveni is continuing to lead Uganda not because he is the best man for the job or because he still has something to offer to the nation. He is still occupying the presidency because he is incapable of acknowledging his limitations.
Paul Biya, the 89-year-old president of Cameroon, has been in power since 1982.
On January 20, a video of the elderly leader looking extremely disorientated moments before he was set to make a speech at the United States–Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC went viral on social media.
In the video, clearly struggling to remember why he is on the stage, Biya remarks, “Wow. So I have become a celebrity”, and asks, “Who are all these people present?” When an aide tells him people are waiting for him to give a speech, he responds, “Are there important personalities amongst them?” He takes quite a while to gather his wits as the audience waits in stunned silence.
This shocking and embarrassing incident confirmed once again that Biya, who has been Cameroon’s president for 41 years, is no longer fit for office.
As he prepares to celebrate his 90th birthday in February, it is only fair to ask: what more can Biya do for his country?
The same can be asked of Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the Republic of the Congo’s Denis Sassou, or Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki: what do they have left in the tank?
Thankfully, Africa has also seen leaders who knew perfectly well when to call it quits.
Take Ketumile Masire, Botswana’s second president.
As the international community celebrates the many achievements of Ardern and congratulates her for knowing her limits, Biya, Moseveni, and others like them should pay attention.
Knowing when to call it a day is an important part of being a good leader. Ardern clearly and admirably knows this. It is high time some of her African counterparts learned it too.
Tafi Mhak opinion on Knowing when to quit as an important part of being a good leader
