Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 6 - Chapter 1 Page 3

Unless their political organisation remains strong and principled, exercising strict discipline on leaders as well as ordinary members alike, inspires its membership, apart from government programmes, to develop social initiatives to uplift the community, the temptation to abandon the poor and to start amassing enormous wealth for themselves, becomes irresistible. They come to believe that they are indispensable leaders. In cases where the constitution allows it, they virtually become life Presidents. In those cases where a country's constitution imposes limitations, they generally amend the constitution to enable themselves to cling to power for eternity. Leaders such as Leopold Senghor, Julius Nyerere, Ketumile Masire, Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdusalam Abubaker and Jerry Rawlings avoided these traps and stepped down at the height of their power and influence. They became respected and admired beyond the borders of their respective countries. Yet when we are dealing with matters of state in countries other than our own, we should be scrupulously objective and avoid any form of subjectivity.