Learn to give up power, Obama tells strongmen

US President Barack Obama has criticised African leaders who refuse to give up power, as he made the first address to the African Union by an American leader.

“Africa’s democratic progress is also at risk when leaders refuse to step aside when their terms end,” President Obama said in a speech at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “No one should be president for life.”

He said that he was himself looking forward to handing over to his successor so that he can spend more time with his family and find new ways to serve. He also said he would make more visits to Africa.

“I have to be honest with you: I just don’t understand this. Under our Constitution, I cannot run again. There’s still so much I want to get done to keep America moving forward. But the law is the law and no one is above it, not even presidents,” he said.

President Obama singled out Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza — whose re-election to a third term provoked weeks of unrest in the central African nation — as an example of the dangers of trying to stay put.

There has been debate in Rwanda over whether President Kagame should run for a third term, while Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is also considering running for another term.

“When a leader tries to change the rules in the middle of the game just to stay in office, it risks instability and strife, as we’ve seen in Burundi,” Mr Obama warned.

He said clinging to power was “often just a first step down a perilous path. If a leader thinks they’re the only person who can hold their nation together, then that leader has failed to truly build their country,” President Obama said and hailed Nelson Mandela as an example for the continent.

At the same time, President Obama called on Africa to end “the cancer of corruption” and embrace democracy to ensure continued progress.

“Nothing will unlock Africa’s economic potential more than ending the cancer of corruption,” said Mr Obama, warning that it drained “billions of dollars” from economies that could be used for health systems or creating employment.

“Only Africans can end corruption in their countries,” he said.

But he also said that ensuring democratic rights were protected was key.

“Africa’s progress will also depend on democracy, because Africans, like people everywhere, deserve the dignity of being in control of their own lives,” he said, in a speech that closed his two-nation tour of Kenya and Ethiopia.

“Yet at this very moment, these same freedoms are denied to many Africans. I have to proclaim, democracy is not just formal elections,” he added, to cheers from the packed hall, with all its 2,500 seats taken by AU officials and civil society.
“When journalists are put behind bars for doing their jobs, or activists are threatened as governments crack down on civil society, then you may have democracy in name, but not in substance.

“I am convinced that nations cannot realise the full promise of independence until they fully protect the rights of their people.”

President Obama also said that the United States stood with Africa to defeat terrorism and end conflict, warning that the continent’s progress will “depend on security and peace”.

“As Africa stands against terror and conflict, I want you to know the United States stands with you,” Mr Obama said, highlighting threats ranging from Somalia’s Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram in Nigeria, insurgents in Mali and Tunisia, and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels in Uganda.

He said that the United States was backing AU military efforts and saluting the “brave African peacekeepers” battling the terrorist groups.

“From Somalia and Nigeria, to Mali and Tunisia, terrorists continue to target innocent civilians,” he said.

“Many of these groups claim the banner of religion, but hundreds of millions of African Muslims know that Islam means peace. We must call groups like Al-Qaeda, Isil (Islamic State), Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, we must call them what they are — murderers.”

But he also said that progress was being made.

“Because of the AU force in Somalia, Al-Shabaab controls less territory, and the Somali Government is growing stronger.

“In central Africa, the AU-led mission continues to degrade the Lord’s Resistance Army,” he said.

“In the Lake Chad basin, forces from several nations — with the backing of the AU — are fighting to end Boko Haram’s senseless brutality,” he said.