HEALTH OF LEADERS
ADEKEYE ADEBAJO: African scourge of presidential paralysis
The power vacuum and political uncertainty created by sickness and death among African leaders deserves greater attention
Recent reports that 74-year-old Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to London to continue medical treatment for an undisclosed illness and that 74-year-old Angolan leader José Eduardo dos Santos — in power since 1979 and who had reportedly been treated for prostate cancer — remains in a Spanish hospital after three weeks, raise questions about the health of African leaders and the lack of transparency on reporting on this issue. Buhari — having earlier gone to London to treat an "ear infection" — spent seven weeks in London earlier in 2017 on a "medical vacation" before returning to Abuja. African leaders often give the impression that the health of their countries is tied to their own personal health and an ailing leader is often treated as a state secret. A paradox still exists in Africa of a young continent — with more than 60% of its population under 25 — being led largely by old men, with the average age of leaders about 61. The phenomenon of the African leaders se...
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