By Robert Kayongo
Africa the youngest population in the world is governed by the aged presidents, with the medium age of thirteen percent.
Such a high number of young people is an opportunity for the continent’s growth – but only if these new generations are fully empowered to realise their best potential.
It is especially important that young people are included in decision making and given appropriate opportunities for work and to innovate.
Involving young people in politics and society is not merely a question of inclusion, but one that is vital for economic growth, innovation, peace and security.
The Africa Regional Review – the regional preparatory meeting for LDC5 held virtually in Malawi this year–ensured a seat at the table for young people. It is important that youth are involved in decision making recognised as equal partners and as right holders – Not only as victims.
The youth of Africa are facing a very big challenge of old corrupt leaders who became dictators in many countries around the continent, and they are doing nothing to build the future of the youngest continent apart from building their family members close frineds to be their successors.
Examples are abound. For instance, in Equatorial Guinea, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled the country since 1979. He is 73 years old. He has also faced allegations of corruption, particularly in relations to the country’s oil resources.
He won the last elections in 2009 with over ninety-five percent of the votes. His son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, is Vice President, and is thought to be his favored successor.
The late Angolan president, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, took office in 1979 steppeddown in 2017 after 38 years in office. He received criticism for corruption and he left the country in a big economic crisis with a big number of unemployed youth.
Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda, has been in power since 1986 and his rule has been highly controversial, full of corruption scandles and votes rigging, with human rights abuses, poverty and unemployment among others.
And there is no chance of Museveni to get out of power in the next five years, his heir apparently is his son and the commander of the national army, the Uganda people’s defence force, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Ninety one year old Paul Biya has been Cameroon’s president since 1982. He is seen as a particularly entrenched African leader, having survived a number of coup attempts. Paul Biya is currently seeking for another term in office amidst pressure from th ruling party.
Algeria’s former President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to resign at 82 after months of mass youths protests opposing his candidacy for a fifth term, but the same youth handed over power to the 78 year old Abdelmadjid Tebboune to be in charge of thier future.
There is something unmistakably common in Africa: it is about the continent’s aging and long-serving presidents.
Its five longest presidencies stretch between 29 and 40 years, adding to a cumulative 170 years. Their longevity in office is matched by their old age, ranging from 71 to 91 years, and a combined 390 years.
Gabon’s Omar Bongo had been president for 41 years before he died in office at the age of 73 in 2011. Hastings Banda, Malawi’s self-proclaimed president for life, was in his late 90s when he was ousted from office in 1994.
Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe was forced to resign at 93 in 2017 and his successor Emmanuel Munangagwa, the Crocodile, is still struggling with economy with one of the highest poverty rates in the world.
The average age of the ten oldest African leaders is 78.5, compared to 52 for the world’s ten most-developed economies.
Arguably, compared to other continents, Africa has a very small proportion of younger leaders between 35 and 55.
It has a leadership age gap disconnect between the leaders and the led. To put it into context, 85 percent of Angolans in 2016 were not born when Dos Santos came into power in 1979.
83 percent of Zimbabweans in 2016 were born after Mugabe first came into power as prime minister in 1980, while 79 percent of Ugandans were born after Museveni took over power in 1986.
On average, only between fifteen to twenty-one percent of their citizens were alive when these presidents took the reins.
With a burgeoning youthful demography at the bottom, the political top is disturbingly a graying lot.
The issue here is the age at which African leaders continue to hold the fort and ultimately refuse to unclench their grip on power. These most troubling, leaders have failed to deliver on the expectations of their burgeoning youth.
Why is Africa so saddled with leaders who ought to be enjoying their retirement in peace and quiet, instead of in the unforgiving political corridors, campaign trails and tasking political brinkmanship that challenge even the youngest leaders?
The question then is, ‘f the average age of the continent is 19.5, why is the average age of leadership 65?’
Part of the explanation across board is their mastered use of brute force and violence to cow opponents.
Also, the aging leaders’ supporters argue that with age and longevity in office comes wisdom, foresight and experience. But this is clearly contradicted by the abysmal performance of their economies and uncertain sociopolitical stability.
Yet, such leaders still attract reverence and unbridled loyalty from their supporters.
Equally, being seen as “fathers of the nation”, who led independence or liberation struggles, makes them irreproachable, irrespective of their shortcomings, extending their tenure.
Perhaps a broader explanation that cuts across their respective constituencies lies in the combination of political machinations, shrewd political brinkmanship through patrimonial networks and corrupt practices.
Undoubtedly, it is also their longevity in the executive office that has curtailed and stifled the emergence of credible and youthful successors.
This begs the question: are African youths still unable to appreciate their ability to dictate the pace and direction of their own destinies or the correlation between their leaders’ age and their floundering fortunes?
Clearly the answer is in the affirmative. This paradox is informed by a binary where those at the top are stuck in the anti-colonial/Western mentality.
Added to this are nostalgia of liberation struggles and distrust for youth, while those at the bottom are driven by technological innovation, globalization, the pressure of consumerism and the frustration of unfulfilled promise.
Much of the progressive world embraces the innovativeness of youth – its energy, vibrancy and adaptability, with the willingness to embrace change and enthusiasm to learn.
Africa, on the other hand, wobbles behind, unable to keep pace, thanks to its conservative aging leaders.
For as long as the leaders and their followers have differing interpretations of what the continent needs today and tomorrow, Africa will for the foreseeable future stay caught in unpredictable generational crosswinds between her past and the future.
Robert Nestrooy Kayongo, Journalist and career diplomat in Uganda. nickayongo@gmail.com
