By Melanie Nathan, July 28, 2015.
United States President Barack Obama concluded his visit to Africa today after speaking at the African Union’s headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. This was the first time a sitting US president addressed the AU.
President Obama asserted that Africa would not advance if its leaders refuse to step down when their terms end:
“Nobody should be president for life,” President Obama noted.
The President included a visit to Kenya, the homeland of his late father, where he delivered several key speeches ,
Obama told the African Union attendees that he loved his job as President of the United States, so much so that he would love to serve another term, yet he still had to comply with the Constitution of the United States by adhering to two terms only.
“I don’t understand why people want to stay so long, especially when they have got a lot of money,” he told the 54-member AU, an apparent criticism of African leaders who have done just that.
Calling on the AU to ensure leaders respect their constitutions and step down when their term ends, Mr. Obama specifically mentioned Burundi, whose president Pierre Nkurunziza has controversially been re-elected for a third term.
“Sometimes you will hear leaders say ‘I’m the only person who can hold this nation together.’ If that’s true, then that leader has failed to truly build their nation.”
There are several African leaders who have certainly earned the term “dictator.” The President did not mention them, yet we all know who they are. These leaders tend to suppress opposition and usually head countries with severe human rights infractions. To name but a few – President Yoweri Museveni, who despite almost 30 years in office as the President of Uganda, is seeking yet another term and Robert Mugabe, the 91 year old President of Zimbabwe who has held that office since 1987.
When Obama assured that democracy was about more than just holding elections: “When journalists are put behind bars for doing their jobs or activists are threatened as governments crackdown on civil society then you may have democracy in name, but not in substance, ” he was clearly speaking to the Museveni Mugabe mold.
Also read more here about the President’s 5 day trip to Africa: HERE
Comrade Obama seized the authority to assassinate americans without providing evidence of guilt.
The dictators of Africa are rolling their eyes when dear leader speaks.
When the president acts like a dictator himself or maybe a 2 years old not getting his way all yahoo THATS a dictator just my first amendment rights to make an opinion about our leaders
Is he still your commander on Chief? How about some respect George?
Yes George needs to refer to Obama as Comrade or Dear Leader considering the Snowden revelations and the certain implications for dissenters as seen throughout history.
Anyway its just natural that when an area becomes overpopulated a dictator arises, the “American Values” were assembled by plantation running slave holders whose nearest neighbor was 20 miles away.
you clearly have run to Philippines either for your pedophile sex or because its a better place than America Dan?
6% economic growth annually the last 5 years has made Philippines the best investment in the world after early bitcoin adoption.