The breaking news indicating the stepping down of Egyptian President was welcomed with utmost jubilation, in many parts of the world; not only by Egyptians at home and in diasporas but also by other Africans who are keen fighters of bad governance in their respective countries. African traditions as well as politics is similar. The political tradition chasing bad leaders out of office has been established in Egypt and Tunisia, and whether we like it or not other African countries experiencing same may follow suit. These two incidents will have ripple effect on the political changes in Africa especially in this Twenty first century.
However, the stepping down of former president Mubarak is a battle half-won. There are other unseen challenges which the Egyptian people are going to face and must persevere to justify the immeasurable sacrifices made in order to topple a bad government. First of all, Egyptians should be aware that, Mubarak (though was an apex leader in Egypt) was just an individual surrounded by advisors who also played various political roles especially by helping him in formulating evil policies which ruined Egypt in different ways. The failure of his (Mubarak’s) thirty years’ rule can not be entirely blamed on the leadership at the apex level, but also on the president’s sub-ordinates who have the opportunities of influencing certain changes but kept mute until this present circumstance offers itself for the current changes to take place. The Egyptian transitional body should take note of this and be watchful to ensure that such set of individuals do not find their way back into the new government.
Secondly, even a dead president, sometimes, leaves behind ardent supporters who fight his course, causing unjustified confusion in a society that should be experiencing peace. The stepping down as well as moving of Mubarak out of Egypt should not be considered as an end to the political changes which Egyptians desire for an ideal Egyptian society; it should be noted that there are a handful of Egyptian politicians who are still loyal to Mubarak for the favours he has given them within this thirty years of his rule. The transitional body should consider this also, least they allow Egyptians to fall prey of bad leadership/government which ruined Egyptian resources for decades.
Above all, Egyptians are to be commended for their courage, suffering as well as immeasurable sacrifices offered to see that this landmark political change has taken place on African soil. Looking at the position of Egypt in the history of Africa (and indeed the world), as an important centre of civilization, it can be assumed that this unique political change (tradition) established in Egypt will find its relevance in the politics of other African nations. Only when Africans pay such prices in exchange for good governance, its economy would remain on the backward curve. The critical question is: Which African country is next to Egypt?
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