Mo Ibrahim rewards the privileged

Ambitious - Founder Mo Ibrahim

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006 with the aim to support good governance and great leadership in Africa. The latest recipient of the US$5 million prize money is former Cape Verde President Pedro Pires. Previous recipients include Festus Mogae of Botswana, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and Nelson Mandela of South Africa. The prize comprise an initial US$5 million payment followed by US$200 000 annually for life.

I do not have a problem with the aim of the prize itself - that of supporting democracy and good leadership. My problem lies with its selective approach in rewarding an individual in the form of a President. Isn't democracy born out of collective leadership involving even the nation’s citizens. Why then, should a single President be rewarded single handedly? On the other hand, why should a President be rewarded for a job they were elected to do in the first place? Doesn’t that constitute a bribery of some sort?

When Presidents are elected into office they are often bombarded with many benefits, to a point that when they leave office, most become wealthy regardless of whether they were honest or corrupt leaders during their reign. Why then, should we shower them with extravagance in the amount of of five million US Dollars? Are we really encouraging good governance or greed? Should Africa be paraded as a continent where democracy can only thrive when they're “handsome rewards”? Where is our moral fabric as patriotic Africans whose goal is to advance this continent without necessarily looking at incentives? Is this prize money even enough to discourage African leaders to stop their rot? For instance, the late Gabonese leader Omar Bongo's personal bank accounts revealed a huge amount of over 130 million US Dollars coupled with lavish properties in France. Would US$5 million discourage other potentially unscrupulous Presidents in Gabon for example? Why can’t Ibrahim instead invest his vast wealth in programmes aimed at eradicating poverty and inculcating ideals that are against greed and corruption in African Governments? Better yet, how about rewarding countries with good governance and not necessarily it's Presidents? 

Like I pointed out at the beginning of this article, I fully support the aim of this prize. It is common knowledge that citizens of such countries whose Presidents are recipients of this lucrative prize continue to live in abject poverty, hunger, disease and corruption so why reward a select few?

The Mo Ibrahim prize for achievement in African leadership as it stands is an embodiment of the ever growing gap between the rich and the poor.