DO WE CALL THIS

"DEMONARCHY" OR WHAT?

Gradually, the worm is creeping into the African political system. It is becoming institutionalized and if nothing is done at this stage, the continent may live to regret it in the future. It is the culture of leaders, democratically elected ones, replacing themselves with their sons in power after serving for many years. What makes the development a sad one is the fact that such sit-tight leaders do everything possible, using state apparatuses, to suppress any form of opposition to their ambitions.
From Yoweri Museveni's Uganda, where his son Lieutenant-Colonel Kainerugaba Muhoozi was recently appointed as head of an elite army unit responsible for his security, obviously preparatory to taking over from him, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak whose 46 years old son Gamal Mubarak is widely being speculated to succeed him, Senegal's Abdullahi Wade, whose frequent tampering with the country's constitution is being suspected to be part of the plan to prepare the ground for his son, Karim to succeed him, to Cameroun's Paul Biya, where there are claims that he is also grooming his son, Frank, to succeed him, the list is growing at an alarming rate! Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equitorial Guinea, Blaise Compaoré of Burkina faso and François Bozizé of the Central African Republic are also said to be grooming their heirs for succession.
This crop of leaders obviously caught the syndrome from their late counterparts in Togo, DR Congo and Gabon. Late Gnassingbe Eyadema's son, Faure succeeded his father, after nearly three decades in office. Joseph Kabila became president in the Democratic Republic of Congo following the death of his father, Laurent Kabila. Ali-Ben Bongo, son of Late Omar Bongo, Africa's longest serving president, became Gabon leader after his father's death last year.
This is an ominous sign for Africa because allowing the culture to be permanently institutionalized, as it is gradually becoming, will tighten and close up the political space and in the long run exterminate participatory democracy. Egypt, Uganda and Togo and Gabon are vivid examples.
It is high the time civil society communities and pro-democracy groups across the continent rose against the phenomenon. They must make campaign against such a priority. Failure to do that now could result to entrenching dictatorship through democracy.