If there is any one lesson that the fall of Ben Ali has for Africa, it is that the strength of a people who rise together to remove a dictator can not be easily overcome. Some have argued that one of the reasons why dictators of all stripes lord it over Africans for so long is that Africans themselve let these dictators to lord it over them. The case of Tunisia shows that the brutal treatment Africans receive at the hands of their leaders does not have to be tolerated for so long. Perhaps this is the beginning of new things to come in African politics. The fall of Ben Ali should also awaken other African leaders of his stripe, such as Robert Mugabe, Paul Biya, Laurent Gbagbo, etc., to the fact that their people will also wake up soon. This wind that has begun in the north of the continent will proceed to the south and a new day will emerge. The lessons to be drawn from this even does not only apply to the Arab world as this NY Times piece suggests, they apply first and foremost to the continent to which Tunisia is a part - Africa. A new day is dawning.
Update: Power changes hands again in Tunisia.
1 comment:
If you think what happened to Ben Ali will happen to Biya, then you are wrong. President Paul Biya is loved by his people and they want him. You can see from the communion with the population of Bamenda during the celebration of the golden jubilee of the armed forces, when we know it is an opposition zone. He works daily to come closer to his people through great projects and cannot ignore the personal new year wishes he addressed to all citizens through their cell phones!
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