'You've overstayed your welcome gentlemen, you must leave NOW'

Power corrupts. The more one stays in position of power, the more they become comfortable and more stubborn s/he becomes.

Africa successfully fought against African colonialism, a ruling system whereby African states' affairs were fully run and governed by Western countries. When this unjust system was defeated, all eligible people to voting  were allowed to independently elect/vote for political parties and people that they regard to be fit to run and coordinate the affairs of their sovereign states (democracy).

However, some African heads of state who were voted into power by masses, after the long unjust spell of colonialism found comfort zones in their positions of power and decided to stay longer, unconsciously giving birth to a system known as authoritarianism. This system gives the ruling elite power and authority to make decisions about the way state affairs should be controlled, without the contribution or proper consultation  of grassroots masses.

Tunisians took a bold stance and became the first to say enough is enough as all civilians spoke in one voice, calling for president Abidine Ben Ali who had been in power for 23 years to step down. Ben Ali was forced to call it quits and flee his mother land due to the disgruntled citizens who took to the streets calling for Ali's head.

Egyptian civilians were inspired by what transpired in Tunisia in the successful ousting of the authoritarian Ben Ali. The inspired Egyptians mobilized in large numbers with a common interest to put an end to the 30 years authoritarian rule of president Hosni Mubarak and his regime. After a hard fought battle, people of Egypt tasted victory as Mubarak left office and the military was unonymously appointed by civilians to temporarily take over the control of their state's affairs.

Lybians also joined the party as they took to the streets, calling for the head of the 40 years long serving president Muamur Gadaffi. The longest serving African head of state ignored civilians' grievances and decided to retaliate by ordering his loyal troops to shoot the innocent pro democracy protesters. The authoritarian Gadaffi is adamant that he will not step down while innocent citizens continue to be killed by the merciless Gadaffi soldiers. The stubborn old man is still enjoying his spell at the presidential office and the Lybian mayhem remains to be seen.

Swaziland civilians have recently added their name to the list of pro democracy protests, calling for an end of the authoritarian rule by King Mswati the third.

Africans are slowly but surely beginning to subscribe to the notion of 'power to the people'. If what we recently experienced in the then African authoritarian run states is anything to go by, the saying which states 'united we stand, separated we fall' prevails to the masses of poverty stricken African civilians.

The big "unshakable" elephant threatened by its own offsprings!!!!!!

The 4th local government elections are over a month away and different political parties presented their manifestos, trying to convince masses to vote for their candidates. All political organisations that are going to compete at the polls on the 18th May have submitted their candidates list to the Independent Electoral Commission.

However, it has emerged that some wards are not happhy about names submitted by their parties to the IEC. The most affected is the African National Congress, that in the past few weeks has been faced by many protests by disgruntled members in various wards around the country. The devastated members are complaining that the names that appear on the IEC candidates list are not the ones they forwarded to the ANC head quaters. It is the ANC policy for its members in each ward to choose a person that they want to vote for as their councillor in the elections showdown on May 18.

The angry ANC members claim that Luthuli house has manipulated the candidates list and imposed candidates that the membership do not want to be their councilors. The unsatisfied members have now decided to forward their names to the IEC as independent candidates and prepared to compete against their very own political party at the polls. ANC top leaders from Luthuli house, in the past few days have been campaigning in the complaining wards.

The ANC members who have decided to stand in for the upcoming local government elections as independent candidates are definately a force to be reckon with to their party. Majority of them are the very same names that masses forwarded to the ANC HQs and the national office decided to drop them without consulting with the membership that submitted those names. Just after the ANC's victory in the 2009 national elections, president Jacob Zuma said " the ANC is a big elephant that can never be shaken by anyone".

If the protests we have recently seen around the country are anything to go by, I fully doubt that Mr Jacob Zuma can confidently repeat his 2009 "unshakable big elephant" statement.  May 18 is around the corner and the unshakable big elephant's offsprings seem determined to shake their parent who is definately feeling the heat.