By popular demand, I have decided to serve my esteemed readers this expos that will ever remain topical on the continent of modern Africa;especially considering the tsunami that erupted in the Republic of Libya lately. I have also edited the older version of 'Power is transient' to serve you better. Please read on''His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beast of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conquerour of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.'That was the declaration of Idi Amin Dada; otherwise known as the 'Butcher of Uganda' He was perhaps the most notorious of all Africa's dictators. His eight years of despotic rule was completely bloody. He allegedly killed no fewer than 500,000 innocent Ugandans. So much power one would say! Amin's victory over the authoritarian Obote's regime was initially greeted with widespread support. However, that soon turned sour as Amin began solidifying his absolute control over Uganda. Within months of his assumption of office, he had wiped out his predecessor's community of 5,000 members. He later sent 55,000 Asian legitimate workers and business owners home seizing their assets for himself. Hmm! So much power! Amin's oppressive rule however was brought to an end in 1979 when Tanzanian soldiers captured the Ugandan capital, Kampala, forcing Amin to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia where he eventually died in 2003. Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Holy book says in Psalm 62:11 that 'Power belongs to God' The Biblical first king of Israel, King Saul; fell from grace to grass when he refused to carry out God's instructions to the letter. Notwithstanding his own humble beginning, Nebuchadnezzar never showed mercy to the poor. King Nebuchadnezzar of great Babylon also fell and had to live like an animal for some years all alone in the wilderness. Nebuchadnezzar, a ruthless leader, treated his maker, God, with disdain. He probably forgot that it is God that rules in the kingdom of men, and gives power to whosoever he wants. I saw him being taken to the airport in an ambulance. I saw him being flown to Cairo like a patient on life support machine. I saw him being taken to the court of law in an ambulance. Indeed, the whole world saw him being wheeled to the courtroom to stand trial for the death of over 800 Egyptian protesters he had ordered to be killed. He is also being tried for abuse of power and gross corruption charges. He had been president since the days of our own Alhaji Shehu Shagari until six months ago, when the good people of Egypt revolted against his tyrannical rule ' that enough was enough. Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak, 83-year-old politician, had actually been in power since 1975 as Vice-President; that was when this writer started his elementary education and when late General Murtala Muhammed became Nigeria's Head of State. During the early reign of Mubarak, he did very well for Egypt, as economic conditions improved considerably ' after a period of economic stagnation. But then power began to intoxicate this great African leader and he began to lose focus; deviating from the very lofty ideologies that made him popular. Mubarak became insensitive to the plight of the masses. Unemployment began to rise in Egypt and he started favouring big business concerns and privatisation as opposed to workers' rights. He started becoming unpopular but due to a restriction in the Egyptian constitution that he himself had crookedly sponsored and ultimately imposed on the people of Egypt, no one could run against the sitting president. And so, Mubarak was re-elected as president on four different occasions; thereby making himself life president. Mubarak, the powerful leader that wielded so much power may be facing death sentence if found guilty of corrupt offences levelled against him. How time changes! Methinks the end of a former leader like Adolf Hitler of Austria-Germany should inform leaders of today that power is transient. Hitler, who had a humble beginning lost his parents as a teenager and experienced the other side of life before becoming powerful. He lived from hand to mouth to feed himself and his siblings. Later in life, he joined politics and then became a courageous and first class soldier. But then he lost focus and absolute power began to corrupt him. Hitler was reportedly responsible for starting World War II and killing more than 11 million people during the Holocaust. Whether the living Jews would forgive Hitler descendants for the holocaust is a question for another day. Today, Hitler, who believed until death that he had served his nation meritoriously for 12 years, is considered one of the most evil people in history because of the killing of millions of Jews and several other innocent people. Hitler the hunter then became the hunted and had to live the rest of his days in a bunker underground until he committed suicide. What a way to end it all! Samuel Doe, first indigenous Head of State in Liberia, started very well but began to lose it when he attempted to legitimise his regime with a new constitution in 1984 and his subsequent fraudulent election of 1985. The all-powerful Doe was captured by Prince Johnson, who made sport of him like the tyrant Bashorun Gaa of the Old Oyo Empire, killed him like a dog. Saddam Hussein, in 1988, used chemical weapons against the Kurds within Iraq and not less than 5,000 of the people he claimed to be ruling were killed. And when the die was cast for him, in 2003, he fled Iraq when the United States attacked it. Saddam was eventually tried for gross crimes against humanity and found guilty. He ended it all at the gallows. The end of Sani Abacha should have taught some of our leaders some lessons that power belongs only to God, and that it is only by His grace, that man is delegated to govern His people. Gaddafi, who once said that he would rather die a martyr than relinquish power, was captured begging his assailant not to shoot him dead. Gaddafi who was once regarded as the most flamboyant leader in the world, died like a fowl in his own pool of blood. Indeed, power is transient! Re: The tragic flaw in a heroDear Yemi, I think you have said it all. Unfortunately, no matter what you say, our tyrannical leaders will still turn deaf ears. They will never learn their lessons from tyrants that have died shameful deaths. They believe it can never happen to them; they believe they are smarter. Why didn't Gaddafi learn from Saddam of Iraq' Why no lessons learnt from the tragic death of Osama Bin Laden. Look at what's currently happening in Syria. Will their leader learn any lessons from the death of Gaddafi and change his style by responding to the demands of his people' You can bet the answer is capital NO! Too bad! The greatest lesson we've learnt from history is that people don't learn from history. Let our leaders continue with their evil deeds. I'm sure that ultimately, they will pay the price - maybe with their lives. Those who have ears, let them hear.Mike Afolabi, United Kingdom.
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