Political Leadership and the Importance of Being Experienced

Young global leaders keep under-estimating experience at their own peril. Until Donald Trump emerged on the scene, it used to be fancy to berate Africa for its dinosaurs. While global leaders were burning carbon footprints to land in New York, old buttocks, Yoweri Museveni stayed put in Uganda.

Nobody has seen or heard from Paul Biya or Sassou Nguesso for months. The Nguema’s no longer eager to jump on a plane to land in their chateau in Paris. Idris Derby is largely a recluse. Emerson Mnangagwa, the Crocodile is still mourning his old come-raid Mugabe on his own way to eternal presidency. Who has heard from our in-law, Ismail mar Guelleh of Djibouti?

Of course, Sai Baba is not on the list. Pushed to step aside in 1984, he kept a low profile and kept trying, even with tears to return to power. He’s been back for five years, showing the truth that in governance; soldier go, soldier come, barracks still remain!

Elsewhere in the world, what do we have? Young men who have hoodwinked naïve voters with their youthful charm only to disappoint when it comes to understanding and using the dynamics of power. That is why after Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, America resorted to tasting what Africans have been eating for decades in Donald Trump. From his campaign rhetoric to every day of his presidency Trump has no dull moment. He takes on home hecklers and lash out at his global counterparts.

Today diplomacy is the language of the rookie youth in leadership, the dinosaurs have no inhibition to foul language. Sai Baba once described his youths as lazy; refused to take on a host who openly described his country as fantastically corrupt but instead globally advertises his country as the headquarters of sleaze. Forget those who say only a bastard points at his father’s house with the left hand, they have a phobia for southpaws.

Globally, young politricians in power are barely coping. Sold on ideals such as human rights, separation of power, rule of law and respect for gender balance has put them into trouble. In 2015, Canadians could have elected Justin Trudeau simply for his good looks. But less than a month to re-election, Trudeau’s re-election fate hangs in the balance. For refusing to let his attorney general send a Canadian company to Thomas Cook heaven among other infractions that would have been benign in Africa, Trudeau is in trouble.

We all know that protests have put Emmanuel Macron’s La Republique En Marche in an infernal hook. Macron may have captured the heart of his teacher as a youth; he only bought the attention of Parisians for a few months.

What went wrong? Young leaders have the charm, but they lack the foxy experience of a dinosaur like Muhammadu Buhari or the maverick gentility of a Mnangagwa. Not only are they too dainty for off the hips remarks of Trump, they lack the devil may care attitude of a Museveni.

Before he became Chairman to Trump, Kim Jung-un was first called the Rocket Man. He fired back his own salvo, calling Trump a dotard. Young Kim learnt from his father not to be gentle with a bully – give it back to them hot and you earn their respect. But Jung-un is chairman, with all the powers of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary in his hands. He even allegedly got his own uncle killed for sleeping at a meeting. Trump never called Vladimir Putin any names perhaps because Putin knows a few things Americans wouldn’t want him to confirm. But Trump taunts Mr Xi from time to time.

President Buhari will not be insulted the way Trevor Noah constantly taunts Chairman Trump. Erick Kabendera, a Tanzanian journalist had his roots questioned after being kidnapped by security men. They have charged him with sundry crimes including money laundering, organized crime and failure to pay tax. Magufuli, like Sai Baba started as an anti-corruption crusader before catching the bug of Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza who is now a supreme leader. Ever wonder where they learnt to charge Sowore with the crime of insulting the president?!

When Boris Johnson staged his coup against Theresa May less than 70 days ago, everybody expected the best leadership since Churchill. Last week, Brenda Hale, aka Baroness Hale of Richmond exerted a revenge for womanhood by openly declaring BoJo a liar. In Britain’s 1351 law BoJo would have been executed for lying to Her Majesty the Queen. It is an act of treason.

In Sai Baba’s Naija, if Scotland Yard and M15 could not find something to pin on Lady Hale with a resume reading like Angel Margaret and Mother Theresa, they would have sent her to the ICC to continue her illustrious legal career. Elizabeth Karatu, acting chief justice of Kebbi State was prevented access to her office a day to her retirement.

It took experience for Buhari to appoint Justice Nsofor as ambassador, and reward the son of his niece who helped his atrocious re-election figures as special adviser and now to move two of the judges who truncated Atiku Abubakar’s petition at the PEPT to the Supreme Court. The last time anyone brazenly dragged the judiciary into political opprobrium was when Trump appointed Brett Kavanugh into the American Supreme Court in spite of protests. To paraphrase Trump, Buhari could walk down to Wuse Market, set it on fire and still lead the headline news on NTA as the best president Naija ever had. Experience counts.