Why can’t African leaders just get it?

Official reports from Ivory Coast indicate four persons have died from paramilitary attacks at the office of opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara. The incident occurred yesterday in Abidjan. With a history of ravenous wars, genocides, coups and counter coups this latest development should not be taken lightly.

What’s wrong with Gbagbo? Was this not the same man who as a history professor derided the kind of machine politics that kept Houphouët-Boigny at the helm of power for however long in Ivory Coast? Was this not the same Gbabgo who condemned the unprecedented military coup that brought Guei to power? And was this not the same man whose presidential term was extended not once but twice by the AU and UN after it expired in 2005?

Why is this man trying to cling on to power so desperately? By his actions Gbabgo has shown he is guilty of the same crimes he accused his predecessors of: power drunkenness.

We’ve seen it happen before. Is this not the same spirit that possessed Kibaki in the aftermath of the 2007 elections in Kenya? We all know what happened after that. What is even more disturbing is that just like a certain former president of a country which shares borders with Ivory Coast his wife has been at the center of Gbago’s intransigence. But at least former President Rawlings, for all his faults, abdicated power.

I’ve never been a Rawlings loyalist but for the first time I’m beginning to see the man differently.

Simone Gbagbo, according to the grapevine is said to have uttered to her husband just as the president was about to concede that “If you accept these results, you’re not a boy.” This being Africa, the last thing any man wants is to challenge his manhood—especially when it comes from none other but the woman you share a bed with. But Gbagbo should know better than the counsel of his greedy wife clearly deluded by the spoils of power.

A man may not want to look weak in front of his wife, no matter how questionable her character. That’s fair. But under this circumstance he will be a bigger man—almost larger than life—at least by Africa’s standards should he do the right thing and gracefully concede. Nelson Mandela although under different circumstances has done it before and so can Mr. Gbabgo.

And of course African leaders are waiting for more people to die before they do something. Are they not? I just hope of all the countries in the world, France stays out of this matter.

My goodness, why can’t African leaders just get it?