Africa is the only continent blessed with so many natural and human resources yet ironically it is the most poorest place on planet earth. The logical question then is what accounts for this paradox? One obviously does not need to be a soothsayer or know rocket science to look into the crystal clear lens to determine. the cause of this malaise Africa's woes is largely attributable to bad leadership. It is a common knowledge among all leading humanitarian organisations fighting global poverty that placing special focus on working alongside poor folks to be equipped with the proper resources, will empower to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. By the same token, leadership is expected to inspire and provide direction for the entire country. Unfortunately, in Africa, the privilege bestow on the elected people is very often misconstrued to mean opportunity to oppress the poor and siphon state resources to line up the pockets of the elected officials. Due to this attitude, many African presidents whether elected or imposed, find it difficult to leave office peacefully when their tenure of office is due. They do all that they find convenient to manipulate the system to entrench themselves in office perpetually.
Senegal is the only nation on mainland West Africa not to have seen a coup or civil war since independence. This sterling record was however dented and almost erased. President Abdoulaye Wade aged 85, began his career as president in 2000 with a sterling democratic reputation after several futile attempts to wrest power while in opposition but Wade drew criticism for seeking to extend his rule with a third term, setting off street protests in which six people were killed.Opposition activists had said Wade's quest for a third term was unconstitutional and some voters viewed him as yet another example of a long-serving African leader seeking to hang on to power.
The Constitutional Council, however, upheld his argument that his first term did not count because it began before a two-term limit was adopted. The ruling set off weeks of protests in which at least six people died.
The Constitutional Council, however, upheld his argument that his first term did not count because it began before a two-term limit was adopted. The ruling set off weeks of protests in which at least six people died.
When the election eventually came off, Wade fell short of the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off in the February 26 first round, with 34.8 percent to his main opponent Macky Sall's 26.6 percent. Defeated candidates then united behind Sall.
The term déjà vu literally means "already seen" and is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined. The experience of déjà vu is usually accompanied by a compelling sense of familiarity, and also a sense of "eeriness", "strangeness", "weirdness" or "the uncanny". The "previous" experience is most frequently attributed to a dream, although in some cases there is a firm sense that the experience has genuinely happened in the past. Observers of the African political scene have said when a sitting president or a ruling party fails to garner the needed votes in the first round, the bandwagon effect always goes against them. The Senegalese election was the latest test for democracy in a region plagued by bloodshed and flawed votes, including Ivory Coast's which triggered a civil war last year. A military coup in Senegal's neighbor Mali last week demonstrated how quickly a democracy can unravel.
Early results from Dakar, where Wade has faced his harshest opposition, showed Sall ahead, including in Wade's own precinct in the Point E neighborhood with 417 votes to Wade's 120. Wade had no option but to admit defeat in the election just hours after the polls closed, as early results showed Sall with a landslide, confirming the bandwagon effect was indeed a déjà vu, done deal. Kokromti (thumb) power has eventually and finally spoken.
While hopes for a better future are running high among Senegalese, it remained to be seen whether Sall, who is a former Wade ally and served for years as his prime minister, would bring real change or his leadership too will be déjà vu.
