Democracy In The Making, Or More Of The Same?
Fifteen days after Cameroon’s presidential election concluded, the country’s Constitutional Council unsurprisingly declared that 85-year-old Paul Biya had been re-elected for a seventh seven-year term. Now wearing the crown of ‘Africa’s oldest dictator,’ the end result was really never in doubt. But despite winning with a miraculous 71% of the vote, President Biya’s external legitimacy […]
Without Functional Governance Frameworks, Africa Can’t Develop
When the former president of the United States Bill Clinton put forward his proposition of becoming the American president, he knew exactly what the Americans needed. He knew it was “economy stupid”. This was the clarity and focus of his presidency. The mission was clear and resonated with the American voters. This seems a rare […]
Has Democracy Failed in Africa?
Out of 15 African countries which held elections in 2016, power changed hands only eight times. That’s according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. All eyes are set for the remaining elections this year. Four of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, Cameroon’s Paul Biya, Angola’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, […]
For All Their Power, Africa’s Strongmen Are Powerless to Know When to Go
By now you should know that Africa is one dictator less. Yahya Jammeh, after two decades atop tiny Gambia is no more. The eccentric tyrant is off the swing of power. His desperate but ultimately fruitless attempt to cling on came to naught after Ecowas, the West Africa bloc, threatened to bomb him out. Seeing […]
What Did President Obama Do for Africa?
When Obama visited Africa for the first time as America’s President in July 2009, he gave an eloquent speech to the Ghanaian House of Representatives in Accra. For me, unlike most Africans who had hoped for material presents and aid from his administration, his legacy is wholly in that address. It has been seven, perhaps […]
PM Receives Denis Sassou Nguesso’s Envoy
The President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, has sent a message of friendship, cooperation and solidarity to his Cameroonian counterpart, President Paul Biya, through his Diplomatic Adviser and Special Envoy, Martin Adouki. After handing over the message to Prime Minister, Head of Government Philemon Yang during an audience yesterday, August 12, 2015 […]
