INEC should guard against repeat of irregularities in todays elections Festus Mogae, ex-Botswana President and head of foreign observers

Born on August 21, 1939, Festus Gontebanye Mogae succeeded Quett Masire as President of Botswana in 1998. He was re-elected in October 2004 and after 10 years in office, he stepped down in 2008. Mogae studied Economics, first at Oxford, and then at the University of Sussex. He returned to Botswana to work as a civil servant before taking up posts with the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Botswana. He was Vice-President of Botswana from 1992 to 1998. Mogae was awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion dHonneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 20 March 2008 for his exemplary leadership in making Botswana a model of democracy and good governance. In recognition of his administrations decisive approach to tackling poverty and unemployment, Mogae won the 2008 Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. He is in Nigeria as Head of the Commonwealth Observer Group. He spoke on some important issues during an exclusive interview with JIDE BABALOLA, Assistant Editor, in Abuja. Excerpts:
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