Sudanese born tech billionaire, Mo Ibrahim, has raised a comparison between the age of the leaders governing Africa and its myriad of problems.
He made the comparison while speaking at a lecture in honour of South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela.
“(Barack) Obama became president when he was 47 years old, actually Bill Clinton beat him, he became president when he was 46 years old.
“People in their 40s are being elected to run a country which is not only the greatest superpower, but has a GDP … of 15-trillion dollars a year — 15 times the total economy of Africa.”
“And here we have somebody in a neighbouring country, at 90 about to start a new term. What’s wrong with us?” Ibrahim inquired rhetorically, whilst alluding to the re-election of Robert Mugabe who just extended his 33-year rule by a fresh five-year term at the ripe age of 89.
Ibrahim said that had Obama’s father taken him back to Kenya when he was still a boy, “where would he be today? My guess, he would never (have) been president of Kenya.”
He urged Africa to create space for young people to help in running and developing the continent.
“That is the challenge we need to think of,” said Ibrahim, who is in his sixties.
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