IVORY COAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND AFRICA ELECTIONS INPERSPECTIVE

Once again the world is witnessing such an unglorious and despicable scenario in Africa and particularly West African Subregion. I mean the disgraceful and horrendous aftermath of the Ivory Coast Elections and if heavens doesnt descend to cool apoplectic hearts and volcanic tempers, the ripples and repercussions that is going to follow in few weeks and months will be catastrophic if not cataclysmic, and sadly innocent women and children will subsequently be the heavy victims of any flagrant and inhuman dastardly deed.

Mother Africa has shed enough blood of which some of the wounds are still not healed, but african leaders who behave as if their respective countries are their exclusive preserve and personal properties, are so egoistic, egocentric, insensitive and greedy that they dont care if by entrenching themselves would result the death of the people. It is worrying and disturbing scenario that most african leaders have turned their supposedly democratic countries into a hegemonic denasty, and therefore they are hellish-bound to win every election to perpetuate their incumbency and selfish aggrandizment. Not quite long ago, we witnessed an ugly scenario in Niger where an incumbent president Mamodou Tandja's terms had expired but as is the usual unholy characteristics of african incumbent leaders, he wanted to manipulate to entrench himself and this resulted his disgraceful and humiliated overthrown. Charless Taylor's Liberia and his unwholesone, truculent tendency and penchancy for leadership which showcased a bloodbath is still fresh in our minds.

Rwandan's leadership struggle between the Tutsis and suppressed hutus in 1990, turned the nation into the battle of armagedon and this culminated the death of millions of women, men and children. This ugly and sordid picture is still lingering painfully in our minds and it has created a scarely wound on the mother Africa. Algeria's elections in 1991, which one of the parties which wanted to make Algeria an Islamic state lost and for that matter the political turmoil that erupted and subsequently resulted in carnage and genocide galore which took the lives of about 100,000 people is still not forgotten as a period of dark days in that north african country. In Guinea after the death of long reigned president Lassana Conte in 2008, Mossa Camara, an army bigwig, quickly took over the power ostensibly in the name of corruption that had eclipsed and gained roots in the Lassanna Conte's administration. Mossa Camarra promised returning the country into democratic rule without his standing for election, but at the eleventh hour he wanted to metamophosed his kakistocrastic skin into democratic and stood for election as president. The usual shameless, reprehensible and distasteful attitude of African military leaders. And that nearly resulted his death. Another african country whose elections in just this 2007, turned the country into a graveyard was Kenya.

After president Mwai kibaki was declared the winner, it never went down well with the opposition leader Odinge and his supporters as they suspected malpractices and this erupted a henious and ominous clash between them which took the lives of about 500 people. African leadership killing the very people they profess to care and have their well being at heart. You see how liars they are? There is no wonder that they come for their own stomach and send our monies to the foreign banks for the betterment of only themselves and their families.

Its very regrettable and lamentable that as everybody is thinking that africa democracy is chatting a right and admirable cause and for that matter other neigbouring countries are learning from the strength and weakness of other countries' democrastic dispensation, it is a sad spectacle that, that is not what a west african nation like Ivory Coast has depicted and demonstrated to the world. Ivory Coast with their just ended election has once again opened a dark and dishourable chapter in African continent's labourious journey to democracy. And its a pity that the same political theatrics and tawdry gimmicks by the so called leaders, which we have witnessed helplessly and hapelessly in other African countries that have resulted to deaths, pain, hunger, displacement of people in their own countries is what we are seening in Ivory Coast too. On the 4th of December, the electoral commission declared the opposition candidate Alassane Quattara as the winner but after a day or two the constitutional Council has surprisingly and incredulously come out to overturn the results of the electoral commission and declared the incumbent president Gbgabo as a winner. And already few are dead, as is always the horrible and ignominuos trade mark in african elections. In this vein, what should we expect if the opposition decides to resort to arms hopelessly to mitigate this unfair treament? Your guess is as frightening as mine. This is another unbearable slap on the face of mother Africa.

So when will african leaders learn some commonsense and put way their narcisist, self-bloated ago, self-aggrandizement and become the true servants of the people like Nelson Mandela etc. The man eulogise as a legendary, celebrated statasman, an embodiment and a personified discipline, a distinquished political virtuoso, a phenomenal and a benchmark of unparalelled leadership, who rather laid down his life and sacrificed his family's happiness for his people and never cultivated volatile apocalyptic atmosphere for his people to slaughter one another. When will Africa have altruistic icon and exemplarly statemen and women whose words and deeds bring nothing less than respect, integrity and dignity to African continent.? May God help Africa

EKOW WILSON -BAIDOO
( A CRUSADER WITHOUT VIOLENCE)