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Mo Ibrahim Tells African Leaders ‘No Prize For You, Get A Life’

Mo Ibrahim Tells African Leaders ‘No Prize For You, Get A Life’

Sudanese-British mobile phone magnate Mo Ibrahim got rich on telecommunications, and he has invested millions in the belief that good governance is more important for African development than anything else.

He sponsors the world’s most generous prize — $5 million for African leadership — but winning it isn’t easy.

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has awarded it only four times in 10 years.

Candidates are African heads of state who were democratically elected, left office in the past three years, and stepped down after their constitutionally mandated term ended. They must also show “exceptional leadership,” AP reported.

Highly popular in his own right, Ibrahim gets more mobbed than rock stars, according to an earlier AFKInsider report.

He had some tough messages for African leaders Thursday in an interview with the Associated Press when he explained why no one won the prize in 2015 for African leadership:

“Look at what’s going on in Burundi. The oppression there is just unacceptable,” he said of the deadly violence since President Pierre Nkurunziza decided in 2016 to seek a third term that critics called unconstitutional.

And in Congo, “what do you say to Kabila?” Ibrahim said. “He’s pushing his country recklessly into a difficult situation.” The opposition fears November elections will be postponed to keep President Joseph Kabila in power beyond his mandate.

Ibrahim, who was born in Sudan, also criticized leaders who crack down on gays instead of focusing on larger issues like infrastructure development and economic reform.

“Hey guys, get a life,” he said, mentioning President Uhuru Kenyatta in Kenya, where gay sex is a criminal offense: “Don’t tell people whom they should love.”

Previous Ibrahim prize winners

Previous winners were presidents Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia in 2014, Pedro Pires of Cape Verde in 2011, Festus Mogae of Botswana in 2008 and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique in 2007. Nelson Mandela was named the inaugural honorary laureate in 2007, AP reported. Mandela turned down the money.

Who didn’t win

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan seems to have met the prize criteria for leaving office in the last three years, being democratically elected, and serving a constitutionally mandated term.

He “demonstrated exceptional leadership. It is unclear why he wasn’t (awarded the prize),” said Jimitota Onoyume in a Vanguard report. “Allegations of massive corruption under his administration presently being investigated and prosecuted by the EFCC (Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) may have cost Jonathan the prize.”

Jonathan received international acclaim for leaving office peacefully after being defeated by Mohammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election, VenturesAfrica reported.

“Exellence means excellence,” Ibrahim said in an interview with Newsday. “It is a prize for excellence. It is not an entitlement or a pension so we really seek excellence.”