Incisive Journalism in Cameroon: The Best of ��Cameroon Report�� (1978 � 1986)

60. Cameroon Report 03/11/1985: Leadership Succession in Africa

231 60 Cameroon Report 03/11/1985: Leadership Succession in Africa Introduction: Next Tuesday, November 5, the new Tanzanian President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, will be sworn in as the new leader of that East African state. It will mark the beginning of a new era and an end to Julius Nyerere’s reign which dominated the country’s first quarter of a century since independence in 1961. By transferring power, President Nyerere is doing what few African leaders would readily accept because it means leaving the trappings of power and the lime-light of attention. In Cameroon Report today, our international affairs observer, Ben Bongang uses the opportunity of the changing of the guard in Tanzania, to comment on this singular African style succession: Stepping down from power freely by African leaders is such a rare happening, so the apparent smooth transfer of government in Tanzania must be greeted as a great act of courage by veteran statesman Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. On the basis of his own merit, Nyerere receives high marks for his performances. By African current standards he is one of the least controversial leaders who consistently during his reign was instrumental in forging Third World and African opinions within the non-aligned movement, the Commonwealth and on issues like southern Africa. Perhaps his greatest legacy will be his modesty and frankness, rare qualities with people wielding power. Rising from the lowly position of school teacher to that of head of state, he espoused a brand of socialism whose results, he 232 acknowledges today, are far below expectation. Nevertheless, he has learnt to adjust to the changing tide of times. Nyerere’s personal decision to hand over power, though rare, is not the first of its kind, nor would it be the last time a long reigning resident assumes upon himself the powers of anointing a heir. It is a trend that probably would continue so long as the transition is smooth and peaceful. In Senegal and Cameroon, the exercise of power transfer was conducted with varying results. In Sierra Leone, the grand old man Siaka Stevens hand-picked major-General Joseph Momoh as his own successor. His choice of a soldier, though surprising to many, could be a strategy to defuse any restlessness from the barracks since soldiers would readily identify with MajorGeneral Momoh. Another elderly African statesman, Houphouet Boigny of the Ivory Coast defied all speculations regarding the choice of a successor and instead sought and acquired yet another presidential term of office for himself. President Boigny’s argument so far is that if a successor were named, the person would become the target for all the attacks of his jealous peers. The Ivorian leader has opted instead for a free for all race for the presidency in case of a vacancy, with the president of the national assembly organising the contest. How smoothly all this works out in practice when the time comes is anybody’s guess. The Guinean soldiers led by General Lansana Conte did not give room for such an exercise in their own country. Meanwhile, in Liberia, another curious exercise in democracy aimed at bringing back the country to civilian rule has just been organised and won by former Master-Sergeant Samuel Doe now a five-star General, who, five years ago with 233 a group of friends from the barracks, shot his way to power in an exceptionally bloody coup d’état. No sooner were results of the elections proclaimed than accusations of rigging by the opposition parties were heard. To them, Doe is “a player who is an umpire in the same game”. However strong their protests, it is unlikely that it would affect Doe and his supporters. By standing as candidate in civilian elections, President Doe definitely did not want a repetition of the Ghanaian situation where Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings handed over power to a civilian president Hilla Limann just to turn around and seize it again. All these examples, by all means far from exhaustive, are indicative of an endemic problem in African politics-that of succession. While some people would go for the dynastic style inheritance where the ruling leader chooses the heir who is sole candidate for presidency, there is the Liberian multi-party option even though the problem of rigging still looms large. It would be ill advised to attempt to prescribe the best pattern for leadership transition. Whichever form a country...