We have to set a “True” age limit for Our Leaders. African Leaders are just older than those of other continents, study shows the average age of African leaders is 61yrs, same as in Asia but Europe leaders are on the average 55yrs, while South America it’s 59. Also considering the fact that life expectancy is lower in Africa than in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Because of issues such as poor medical care etc. NOTE : Poverty in childhood and earlier life can also have a lasting impact (DR. George Leeson, a gerontologist from University of Oxford) . Unfortunately, most persons in the race for 2015 Election in Nigeria (All Positions inclusive from Presidency, Reps, Local Govt. etc) are already or about to be a comfortable member of the exclusive Very Old African Leaders club ( Club of leaders of pensionable age). AFRICAN LEADERS AND THEIR AGE ( Article of Friday, 29 July 2011 ) Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (86 years), Abdulai Wade of Senegal (83), Paul Biya of Cameroon (77), Bingu Wa Mtalika of Malawi (76), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia (75), Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (74), Algerias Abdelaziz Bouteflika (74), Rupiah Banda of Zambia (73), Jos? Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola (69), and Jacob Zuma of South Africa (69). The average age of the ten African Presidents listed above is 75.6 years. Lets compare the ages of these African leaders with the ages of the leaders of the most developed countries. Angela Merkel ( Germany ) age 56, Nicolas Sarkozy ( France ) age 55, Jose Socrates ( Portugal ) age 53, Jens Stoltenberg (Norway), 52, Stephen Harper ( Canada ) age 51, Julia Gillard ( Australia ) age 49, Luis Zapatero ( Spain ) age 49, Barrack Obama ( USA ) age 48, Dimitri Medvedev ( Russia ) age 45, David Cameron ( UK ) age 43. The average age of these ten world leaders is 50.1 years. The difference between the ages of the most developed countries and African leaders is 25.5 years. Coincidentally, it seems we are about 26 years behind as far as development is concerned. An important issue is whether the ages of our leaders negatively affect their performances or not. Personally I think it does; the age of our leaders is hampering their performances. Thus, one of the reasons African countries are lagging behind is that our leaders are too old. It is not by accident that workers have to retire when they reach a certain age. How come our leaders dont retire when they reach, say, 70 years? We all know the beautiful and limitedly true adage that old age connotes wisdom. Thus, due to their experiences the elderly are smarter and wiser. This is true in traditional societies where things remain the same or change very slowly. Im wondering whether 86 year old Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is computer/Internet literate. The elderly fear change, and many of the elderly live in the past. In fact, that is why they are most likely to be scammed. How can a President who lives in the past be an effective leader in the present? Since they are not comfortable with change, they are more likely to resist change. As we grow older our memory/brain and health start to fail us. If we consider the rule of individual African leaders, they became worse as they grew older. Mugabe, for example, did well until old age caught up with him. As you remain in power for long, you convince/deceive yourself that due to your old age you know better than others. Thats when you are less likely to embrace diverse opinions. The presidency is a job, not a career. Unfortunately, our leaders have made it a career, and a private business for that matter. An individuals skills particularly speed, agility, strength, and coordination decay over time and prolonged job boredom and lack of intellectual stimulation and forgetfulness all contribute to reduced productivity. I have observed my great Nigerian Youths shouting and abusing each other on Social media and other places because of interest on the next to be set of Old leaders. It hurts because instead of us (Youths) to Unite and fight our common enemies (Old Generations with outdated ideas) who still want power rather we are so busy doing nothing and soon our Children will demand power, probably then we will realize our time has just past ( God forbid). God Bless Nigeria Still ur Boy, “Kyrian Kene”
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 08:16:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015