African Point of View: What It Takes 2 B President of An African Republic!

Some of our African youths today aspire to be future presidents of their respective countries. Besides the legislative guidelines that are currently in place in the different republics, (assuming they are implemented and enforced accordingly) what else should a presidential aspirant take into consideration?

Qualifications and do they matter?

Educated: Many degrees can lead to greatness...or maybe not? Do honorary degrees count?

Objective, dynamic, self-starter

Age = wisdom but not always.

30-39 Tricenarians Joseph Kabila Kabange, Andry Nirina Rajoelina (2)

40-49 Quadragenarians Pierre Nkurunziza, Yahya Jammeh, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, King Mswati III , Lieutenant General Salou Djibo, King Letsie III (6)

50-59 Quinquagenarians Dr. Thomas Yayi Boni, Seretse Khama, Blaise Compaoré,Ahmed Sambi, Ali Bongo Ondimba,Ernest Bai Koroma, Paul Kagame, Goodluck Jonathan, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, (9)

60-69 Sexagenarians José Eduardo dos Santos, Denis Sassou Nguesso, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo,Isaias Afewerki, Atta Mills,Malam Bacai Sanhá, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Omar Bashir, Jacob Zuma,James Alix Michel, Fradique Melo de Menezes, Armando Emílio Guebuza, Amadou Toumani Touré, Abu al-Gaddafi, (16)

70-79 Septuagenarians Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Paul Biya,Pedro Pires, Alpha Condé, Mwai Kibaki, Rupiah Banda, Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba, Bingu wa Mutharika, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (9)

80-89 Octogenarians Sir Anerood Jugnaut, Abdoulaye Wade, Robert Mugabe, Hosni Mubarak, Girma Wolde-Giorgis (5)

90-99 Nonagenarians Some may spill over into this bracket if they insist on being presidents

100 + Centenarians This category should forever remain empty

Note that a majority of our current presidents have lived longer than the average life expectancy age of their respective countries!!! This column is inspired by a conversation awhile back with a fellow from Uganda who was of the view that the best solution to Africa's problems is to sit and wait for our bad leaders to die.

If an executive branch HR department kept partial stats on the job experience section of presidents' pre-election resumes, they would something read like this:

(This table is still a work in progress, will add more stuff on the snap shot resume eg success/achievements and failures)

Africa's Executive Branch Human Resource Department - Snippets from Presidents Resumes

Country	Name	Age	Qualifications	# Years at the Helm	Life Expectancy	Not/Elected/ Who Knows
Algeria	Abdelaziz Bouteflika	73		22	74	Elected
Angola	José Eduardo dos Santos	68	Degree in Petroleum engineering USSR	31	38	Elected/who knows
Benin	Dr. Thomas Yayi Boni	58	Banking at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and later economics and politics at the University of Orléans in France and at Paris University, where he completed a doctorate in economics in 1976.	6	59	Elected
Botswana	Seretse Khama	57	Sandhurst Military Academy	4	60	Elected
Burkina Faso	Blaise Compaoré	59	Bachelier de l'enseignement secondaire, série D	24	53	Coup
Burundi	Pierre Nkurunziza	47	University of Burundi - majored in education and sports.	5	58	Elected
Cameroon	Paul Biya	77	ENA de Paris, diploma in International Relations	29	54	Assumed power
Cape Verde	Pedro Pires	76	Elementary and secondary education at S. Filipe, Praia and S.Vicente. In 1956 he left to Portugal to attend Lisbon University of Sciences. However, before concluding his degree, he was called to serve in the Portuguese Air Force as an officer.	10	71	Elected
Central African Rep	François Bozizé Yangouvonda	64	Military officers' training college	8	49	Rebellion/elected
Chad	Idriss Déby Itno	59	Military officers' academy in Chad, attended; L'Institut Aeronautique Amaury de la Grange, pilot's license, 1976.	11	47	Coup
Comoros	Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi	52	Educated in Islamic studies in Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Qom, Iran	6	63	Elected
Congo Kinshasa	Joseph Kabila Kabange	39	Military Training in Tanzania, Uganda and China…not clear though	10	54	Elected
Congo Brazzaville	Denis Sassou Nguesso	67	Military Training	14	54	Civil war
Cote D’Ivoire					56
Djibouti	Ismaïl Omar Guelleh	63	High School	12	60	Elected
Egypt	Muhammad Hosni Mubarak	82	Bachelor's Degree in Military Sciences, Egyptian Military Academy	29	72	Assumed office following death of predecessor
Equatorial Guinea	Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo	68	Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain	31	61	Coup
Eritrea	Isaias Afewerki	64	Engineering at Haile Selassie I University (now Addis Ababa University)	18	62	Who knows
Ethiopia	Girma Wolde-Giorgis	87	Certificates in Management (from Holland), in Air Traffic Management (in Sweden) and Air Traffic Control (in Canada)	20	55	Elected by Parliament
Gabon	Ali Bongo Ondimba	51	Law	3	52	Elected
Gambia	Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh	45		18	54	Coup
Ghana	John Evans Fifii Atta Mills	66	University of Ghana, Legon, bachelor's degree and professional certificate in law PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.	3	60	Elected
Guinea	Alpha Condé	72		Less than a year	57	Elected
Guinea Bissau	Malam Bacai Sanhá	63		3	48	Elected
Kenya	Mwai Kibaki	79	Makerere University College, Kampala, Uganda, Economics, History and Political Science, graduated best in his class with a First Class Honours Degree (BA) in Economics; London School of Economics for a B.Sc in public finance, graduating with a distinction.	9	58	Elected/ who knows
Lesotho	King Letsie III	47	Bachelor of Arts Degree in Law National University of Lesotho	15	50	Coronation
Liberia	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf	72	BA in Accounting at Madison Business College in Madison, Wisconsin Diploma at the Economics Institute at the University of Colorado Master’s Degree in Public Administration, Harvard University	5	56	Elected
Libya	Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi	68	Law , University of Libya	41	77	De facto
Madagascar	Andry Nirina Rajoelina	36	High school drop out	3	63	Who knows
Malawi	Bingu wa Mutharika	76	University of Delhi, India, master's degree in economics. PhD in development economics from unaccredited Pacific Western University, in Los Angeles, California.	7	50	Elected
Mali	Amadou Toumani Touré	62	High School	19	52	Elected
Mauritania	General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz	54	Military training	3	60	Coup
Mauritius	Sir Anerood Jugnauth	80	Trained and worked in law and took an active role in the 1960s negotiations for independence. Called to the Bar in London in 1954	8	74	Elected
Mayotte
Morocco					75
Mozambique	Armando Emílio Guebuza	68		6	41	Elected
Namibia	Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba	75		7	51	Elected
Niger	Lieutenant General Salou Djibo	45	Military training	1	52	Coup
Nigeria	Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan	53	B.Sc. degree in Zoology, M.Sc. degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a Ph.D. degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt.	1	47	Ascend to power following death of predecessor
Rwanda	Paul Kagame	53	High school	11	57	Succession after predecessor deposed/Elected
Saint Helena, Ascension & Tristan Da Cunha
Sao Tome & Principe	Fradique Melo de Menezes	68	Studied at the Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada in Lisbon, Portugal and Free University of Brussels (don’t know what exactly)	8	62	Coup/agreements/who knows
Senegal	Abdoulaye Wade	84	Studied and taught law at the lycée Condorcet in France. He holds two doctorates in law and economics.	11	59	Elected
Seychelles	James Alix Michel	66	Trained as teacher later got involved in the booming tourism industry	7	73	Elected
Sierra Leone	Ernest Bai Koroma	53	Fourah Bay College in Freetown	4	55	Elected
Somalia					50
South Africa	Jacob Zuma	68	No formal schooling	2	49	Elected
South Sudan
Sudan	Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir	67	Military Training	18	54	Coup
Swaziland	King Mswati III a.k.a. Makhosetive	42	Sherborne School, (Secondary School)England	25	47	Inherited
Tanzania	Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete	60	University of DaresSalaam Bachelors Degree in Economics	7	52	Elected
Togo	Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé	44	Degree in financial business management Sorbonne, Paris Master of Business Administration degree The George Washington University United States.	6	62	Who knows
Tunisia					75
Uganda	Yoweri Kaguta Museveni	67	Economics and Political Science University of DaresSalaam	25	52	Coup
Western Sahara					60
Zambia	Rupiah Banda	73	Degree in economics from ???	3	52	Elected
Zimbabwe	Robert Gabriel Mugabe	86	Qualified as a teacher Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Fort Hare He then studied at the University of Oxford in 1952, Salisbury (1953), Gwelo (1954), and Tanzania (1955–1957). Mugabe subsequently earned six further degrees through distance learning including a Bachelor of Administration and Bachelor of Education from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Science, and Master of Laws, all from the University of London External Programme. The two Law degrees were taken whilst he was in prison, whilst the Master of Science degree was taken during his premiership of Zimbabwe.	23	47	Elected