WHAT IS GOING ON IN AFRICA?

The late Ghana President John Atta Mills

Our leaders are dying on us

By

MOHAMED MATOPE

In 1985, when asked why he could not negotiate with Soviet Union’s leaders, Ronald Reagan responded “well, they keep dying on me.”Regan was referring to Soviet presidents Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenk. All passed away within three years.

 Last week the news came of Ghana's President John Atta Mills’ death at age 68. Although no official cause of his death has been announced, it has been reported that President Mills succumbed to throat cancer, after a long illness.Last April,Malawian President, Bingu wa Mutharika died of heart attack at the age of 78. Almost a year ago, Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua died at the age of 58, after a long battle with kidney and heart disease. Are Africa’s leaders dying on us too?

  

The question is not how they died. The question is why these men run for the highest office

if they knew they were not healthy enough to carry out its challenges? My grandfather once told me to not talk bad of the dead. I am trying to honor that saying.The role of president is very difficult in African nations. It requires sacrifice and a lot of energy. One has to be quick on his or her feet to keep up with the new integrated world. There is no way a person with end stage kidney disease or advanced cancer can fully execute the responsibility of the office.

President Mills whose first term was expiring this November, never ruled out his intention to

 run for reelection until his death. President Umaru Yar’Adua was chronically ill even as a presidential candidate.  In 2007 still a presidential candidate, Mr.Yar’Adua was flown to Germany after he collapsed on campaign event. Nevertheless, he continued to run for the office. After he was elected, his condition continued to deteriorate. Despite his terminal illness, dying on his bed, he refused to let the power go, resulting in massive political turmoil in Nigeria. Do these men run for the office to serve the people or do they run for their own personal interest?

This is merely political malpractice. These men do a disservice to the people by selling them a package without telling them what is in it. Some people will argue “presidents are elected by the people, why are they to be blamed for their medical problems?” I understand that argument. These men not only denied their health problems, but refused to disclose their medical records to the public prior to running for the office. A few weeks ago, while on trip to U.S for medical checkup, President Mills was asked by a reporter if his disease was taking its toll. He had disappeared from the public for weeks and the rumor circulated that he was dead. His answer was, “do you see you’re talking to the dead person?” He literally denied his health problems.

Maybe African people should demand to inspect the package before it is sold to us. Maybe we should adopt U.S. tradition, where presidential candidates are required by the public (not the law) to release all their medical records prior to running for the office. It may give us a clue if the people we are about to elect are up to the task.