A colleague forwarded this piece to me. I hope you will find it
interesting.

                                   THE DAWN OF AFRICAN DEMOCRACY
                                By Benjamin U Nwosu,   M.D.  , Howard
University


One man’s defeat has become his political achievement

Abdou Diouf of Senegal came to power in 1981 and has ruled over Senegal
peacefully for nineteen years.  He was defeated at the polls by his rival
Abdoulaye Wade yesterday.  What the world waited for was the usual
breakdown of law and order when a ruling party loses election in Africa and
the subsequent introduction of emergency rule.  This tall, gangling African
statesman proved the whole world wrong!  He gracefully accepted the result
of the election and congratulated Mr. Wade and went ahead to thank the
Senegalese people for their support during the years he was in power.  The
BBC reporter covering the event exclaimed that this act stood out as the
symbol of democratic maturity in Africa.  The UN declared the elections as
free and fair.  UN spokesman Fred Eckard said, “The conduct of the
elections has been a testimony to Senegal’s long-standing democratic
tradition.”
Abdou Diouf has promised to go into political retirement.  But we can
assure him that retirement is the last thing on the horizon for him.
Africa is desperately in need of these rare levelheaded, graceful and open-
minded political leaders who put the interest of the people before his
own.  He will join other African statesmen in the urgent task of
restructuring the continent.  The last time we checked, there were only
four of such men.  The legendary Nelson Mandela of South Africa; Sir
Ketumile Masire, the former president of Botswana who handed over power on
the eve of President Clinton’s visit to his country.  He chaired the UN
Security Council peace initiative on DR Congo in New York in January.  Next
is Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Nigerian former vice president who is the first
recorded politician in Nigeria to accept defeat at the polls and embrace
his opponent openly and literally.  Lastly, Frederick deKlerk, who changed
the political equation of South Africa.  These are the stars of African
political terrain.  They are the founding fathers of the new Africa and
will remain the guardians of the emerging renaissance.
A short while ago a former military dictator from Nigeria, Ibrahim
Babangida, tried to gatecrash into this exclusive club of great continental
leaders.  He was sent on diplomatic shuttling assignments to Sudan, Kenya
and Uganda in his bid to partake of the goodwill that follows Mandela’s
diplomatic efforts.  Lacking in moral stature and tangible democratic
profile as a past leader, he was quickly rejected by the government and
people of the countries he was sent to.  This was the same man who annulled
an election in Nigeria and plunged the country into darkness.  His ordeal
is also a lesson to other sit-tight African leaders who think that they
would remain relevant after being disgraced out of office.
To Abdou Diouf, we congratulate you on your leadership and your show of
sportsmanship.  Most importantly, we thank you for allowing peace to reign
and thereby proving the world wrong about Africa.  Your handling of defeat
at the polls was a world-class performance.  It has restored our faith in
the African Renaissance and has proved to the world that we are not bereft
of graceful and honorable politicians.
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