In the race for progressive
societies, the quest for modernity and advancement; the basic form of
Government universally agreed and accepted as constituting the most ideal and
potent for promoting the platform and umbrella for individual self expression,
development, and advancement without repression of any sort Is Democracy; the
Government of the people, by the people and for the people according to Abraham
Lincoln. It is rather unfortunate that since the attainment of independence by
98% of African nations, many have witnessed democratic - dictatorial regimes,
as far stretched as the past can be recollected. This is a paradoxical
situation that throws one into some moments of “awe”, from south Sudan’s Omar
al – Bashir (28 years rule and counting) to Paul Biya of Cameroon (35 years and
still counting), down to Paul Kagame of Rwanda (17 years and still counting)
and recently ousted former presidents in Yahyah Jammeh and Robert Mugabe of
Gambia and Zimbabwe respectively. The rule of clenched fist mounted upon the
staff of political authority has made many dictators under the camouflage of
democracy only want to vacate the Seat of authority by the sting of death.
However, recently the will of the
masses has began to take hold and is making sway across Africa; in the month of
December 2016 ; the people of Gambia had their say via the electoral ousting of
dictator Yahya Jammeh who had ruled for 22 years running and still wanted more
of the ice cream of political frivolities. Even with stench refusal and watery
electoral rigging claims upheld by the dictator, the combination of public
pressure and political centripetal force from the ECOWAS, AU, United Nations
and other international bodies and watch dogs, eventually removed the cracked
bone with toppings of meatiness from the salivating glands of yahyah Jammeh. Years
of oppression, unopposed rule, short sighted economic policies and many more
negative outcomes oozing from stench individualism was challenged by the
previously mute and assumedly dumb populace. In sociological analysis of social
change, in the application of relative deprivation: the theory states that; the
persistent public perception of a gap between what ought to be and what is;
will eventually trigger the thirst and fire for social change or
transformation.
As if the above incident was just the
ice topping, Zimbabweans in conjunction with military aid, defied all odds and
ended the 37 year old political suppressive rule of Mr. Robert Mugabe. The wind
of political change has held ground this year (2017), and this is an indicator
to fact that more surprising political outcomes are coming forth which will
shake the political landscape of Africa.
Meanwhile, many African nations are
still tied down systemically and stylishly to dictatorial rule; from Cameroon
to Chad, to Eritrea, and Equatorial Guinea, Algeria and Djibouti and with over
the years stylish garnering of political card stacking in Nigeria politics and
several other versions in many Africa nations; the effrontery posed by
“misrule” to challenge the misruled and to continue to boast on the immunity of
contaminating political players all around Africa, the mindless enthronement of
self seeking wills, the evil joy derived from seeing lives turning to spoils, the no – regard status for human right and
human lives, the extortions and pilfering, the exploitations and extortion; all
these are the nature of dictatorial rule which bemoans majority of African
nations either systematically or stylishly. The current political enlightenment
sweeping across Africa should keep all of dictators on their feet, because they
will all eventually get ousted and relegated.
I will drop off with this; when old
wines are continuously poured into new bottles to rebrand them, refrigerate
them, and the people keeps drinking without sound knowledge, one day the same
persons will get to taste new wine in new bottles elsewhere and then; the
difference will become apparent, which will lead to the dumping and disposal of
the deceitful versions. Dictators all over Africa: beware it’s a new dawn!!!!!
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