The businessman who established a Foundation and annual Index to encourage better governance in Africa, the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Leadership; Mohammed “Mo” Ibrahim has lambasted African youths for supporting old men to become presidents in African countries.
At a recent event, which had former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo in attendance, the billionaire businessman said even countries doing way better than African nations back younger candidates for the presidency.
He said: “Please allow me to be frank, don’t take offence. I wish to start from where President Obasanjo stopped about age. “You have been president for so long that’s why you are careful with words.”
“You see people at 90 years and about to start new terms. You guys are crazy or what?, he said; referring to youths in attendance at the event.
“We see people in wheelchairs unable to raise hands standing for election. This is a joke; you are free to laugh…the whole world already laughing at us.
“The US, the most important country in the world, like it or not…Obama who is half African anyway was 46, 47 years.
“If Obama was in Kenya, what would he be doing, he would be driving bus maybe.
“And he was not youngest president. Bill Clinton and JF Kennedy were even younger.
”Why these big countries lead is because men in their 40s entrust their nuclear weapon, economies, all resources.
“And we only pick up men at 90s to lead us; to lead us where? To the grave?
Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-British worked for several telecommunications companies, before founding Celtel.
Sequel to selling Celtel in 2005 for $3.4 billion, he set up the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to encourage better governance in Africa, as well as creating the Mo Ibrahim Index, to evaluate nations’ performance.
He set aside $5m as annual award for any African country’s president who performs very well for the development, progress and upliftment of his or her people.
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