Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Umar Na’ abba, on Thursday urged African countries to enact laws that would ensure smooth transfer of power from one elected president to another.
Na’ abba made the call at the 2017 Nelson Mandela International Roundtable on Political Development in Africa, in Abuja.
The event with “African Democracy: Presidential Emergence Pattern, Political Conflicts and Peace Building Options” as theme, was organised by Save Democracy Group, a non-partisan organisation.
The former speaker said that the law, if enacted, would dispel fears of uncertainty by some incumbents leading to their desire to cling to power when it was clear that they had lost the trust of their people.
Na’ abba said: “Our continuous dialogue and advocacy shall help to raise the awareness and commitment of our current leaders to smoothly and orderly transmit power when their time is up.
“This will improve governance and provide opportunities for the youth, women and the physically-challenged.”
He expressed worry that most African leaders used the instrument of state powers to distort democracy.
He said: “They amend the constitution, suppress opposition and trample on human rights of their citizens to remain in power long after their original tenures had ended.
“Others, who managed to give out power, do so to some hand-picked cronies, including their family members, under a guided kind of democracy where the will of the people are not allowed to be willingly expressed.
“This has resulted in unmitigated corruption and continued under-development of Africa and its people.
“The result is continued poverty, unemployment and misery and in some cases, avoidable conflicts, civil wars, internal displacement of people and refugee problems.”
In his contribution, South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Lulu Mnguni, urged leaders in Africa to emulate the achievements of Nelson Mandela.
Mnguni described Mandela as a leader who distinguished himself by demonstrating humility and tolerance irrespective of tribe, religion or language.
He said: “Not only that he was humble, he showed love for humanity and as a principled person, he ensured that there was equity and fairness.’’
The Director-General, Save Democracy Group, Dr Ifedi Okwenna, said that the event was instituted to propagate the ideals and values which Mandela lived for and represented.
Okwenna added that it was also designed to stimulate the need for political class in Africa to change their concept and perception of leadership.
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