Introduction
Any positive progress in every country is absolutely dependant on the political and leadership stability it enjoys. This implies that political instability and poor leadership are the worst setbacks to constructive progress. Consequently, countries that enjoy political stability no matter how limited resources are at their disposal, development is inevitable.
Thus, we cannot talk about the development of any country in the exclusion of its political stability. Therefore, this paper seeks to evaluate the political leadership between Ellen Jonson of Liberia, and Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, so that the most suitable between them is recommended to lead the African continent.
Yahya Jammeh, the current president of Gambia, came into power in 1994 after a bloodless coup. At the beginning of his tenure, president Yahya was seen as a man ready to take the people of Gambia a step higher in dealing with the national affairs.
The people both citizens and western community, expected him to end impunity and particularly corruption which was perpetuated by the previous regime. In one of the meetings with the ECOWAS delegation, he is portrayed as a state man, a man of the people, a generous person fit for the leadership of Gambia.
This was short lived because his leadership was tainted with untold human torture, numerous murders, disappearance of some of the people and especially those who were opposed to his rule, restriction to press freedom, and many other crimes against humanity. The political instability in Gambia under the rule of President Yahya is as a result of poor governance, corruption, absence of democracy, and human resource crisis. His rule is that of a real dictator in the modern world.
On the other hand, Ellen Jonson, the president of Liberia is the complete opposite of president Yahya. Having been elected by the people of Liberia as the first woman president, Ellen did not disappoint her people, but step by step she began to restore their hope.
Ellen took over as the president of Liberia at the moment when virtually every system of governance was collapsing because the county was at war for 25 years. Under her watch, peace has been established in Liberia, schools have been constructed and education quality improved, hospitals and clinics are operational in all parts of the country. Liberia’s economy has been invigorated through the improvement of agriculture.
President Ellen’s Zero tolerance to corruption, is the reason behind the magnitude at with corruption has reduced in Liberia. The aid money that Liberia receives from international communities and particularly America is used to construct more universities, technical schools, roads, hospitals and above all to put law and order in all her institutions.
Having evaluated the two presidents namely: Ellen and Yahya, Ellen stands out as the most ideal and fit to lead a continent like Africa; her trail of records speak for themselves.
Although she is the first woman to be elected as a president not only in Liberia but in the whole of Africa, Ellen has shown the people of Africa and the world at large, that an African woman can govern the country even more than her male counterparts. Ellen’s government has managed to reinstate hope among the Liberians, the reason for which they call her “mother” and “redeemer”.