As the heat generated by the presidential contest between incumbent President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, his predecessor was spreading across the globe, I asked an old friend based in Atlanta USA, whom she was going to vote for. I wasn’t quite prepared for her answer which was short but decisive. ‘Neither’ she said. “Why” I wanted to know since she wasn’t known to be a political bystander. ‘Both are too old’ another short but definitive answer. Subsequent unfolding events partly vindicated her as Biden dropped out shortly after her comment on what was pushed in the media as age related cognitive disorientation and performance during a live debate. On the other hand, the other ‘old man’ won the election convincingly over Biden’s much younger replacement. He was 78. His landslide victory seemed to indicate that his advanced years were discountenanced by a large number of American voters. Yet, US Presidency, as most Presidencies, is a high pressure job that demands constant mental and physical alertness. It is a job on which no incumbent can afford to sleep as an unguarded decision by him can derail global alignments. Or worse, cause a regional or global war. Even the best of them are found to have aged considerably after just a term.

The corporate world is very decisive on retirement. Although the band is flexible, very few companies go beyond 70 years old. Very few go below 60. Whatever limit a company chooses, the inescapable fact is that the corporate world believes that performances dwindle after a certain age. This belief is not arbitrary or whimsical. Rather, it is empirical and data driven. Those who perform optimally at 65 are more the exception than the rule. Most peak in our 50s and the law of diminishing returns sets in thereafter. The bar is much higher in the sporting world. Again the band is flexible depending on the sport, individual fitness and discipline. But the general rule is that most athletes peak in their 20s while those in team sports tend to last a bit longer than those in individual sports. But irrespective of the sport, irrespective of individual skills and fitness, very few laurels are acquired by any athlete, however endowed, beyond the age of 40.

There is a vocation which seems to defy age limits mainly because the practitioners say so and the rest of us acquiesce. Some call it a sport. Some call it a profession. Some call it a service to humanity. The world knows it as politics and its practice cuts across all human activities overtly or covertly. Depending on the arena, politics can start as early as birth and as late as death. It exists between parent and child, employer and employee, spouses and In-Laws. Indeed, everywhere there is human interaction and there are favors to be dispensed and promotions to be earned. The brand that interest me today is the one called democracy. It is the one that exists ostensibly at the pleasure of the people and for the good of the people. So important is political democracy in the life and future of a country that every country should endeavor to put it’s ‘A’ team in office. Yet the contrary seems to be the case everywhere you turn, especially in Africa where our people choose activism over intellect; where ruthlessness is seen as strategy; where duplicity and deceit are alternate words for politics. The result is that the entry level is low for such a powerful and lucrative vocation. And when the ‘elected’ enter, they hardly leave using experience as a catchphrase for staying in office and in power. The balance between experience and age is one that most vocations constantly evaluate with age trumping experience after a particular time. Not with politics. Not with democracy where people tend to hold on to office till death do them part. A particular country which preaches democracy to the world has its Senators averaging 65 years. The average age of its population is under 40. Nigeria is even worse. We claim to be a youthful population with the average age in late teens and early 20s. Yet, there is no Governor or Federal Legislator that represents what the median age should be. Many of them are in their 60s.

Nigeria goes to the polls early next year and official campaigns starts this week. Check out the number of old faces that are seeking elective office. Check out the average age and compare it with the national average. The disparity is embarrassing. It gets worse. Two of those contesting for the Presidency will be on the wrong side of 70 by 2027. Even by their self- confessed official age. The Presidency is the most demanding of jobs anywhere in the world. Even more so in Africa where the task is urgent and huge. Yet, here as in everywhere else, those seeking the office think more about the allure of the job then the demands of it; more of the power than the sacrifice. Many end up being incapacitated by age related health issues and have to cede critical decisions to carpetbaggers who are largely faceless. Many, like our last three Presidents, have ended up shuttling foreign hospitals while carpetbaggers took over governance. Isn’t it time we put an end to this? Isn’t it time we demanded the true health status of people seeking office, especially high office? Isn’t it time to push a legislation that emphasizes age limits for entry and exit levels to elective offices? Isn’t it time to emphasize greater transparency in the source of campaign funds and make buying of votes a crime punishable by imprisonment? Isn’t it time to dismantle the high finance and structural costs that tend to favor the old guard? Isn’t it time to include character and integrity among pre-requisites for high office?

Governance is a serious business which must attract serious people who are fit, healthy and cerebral for us to make appreciable progress as a people. Enough of the circus show. For too long, our many levels of government have been run by people who are ‘unfit’ in many ramifications. Time to demand seriousness and competence.

•Muyiwa Adetiba is a veteran journalist and publisher. He can be reached via titbits2012@yahoo.com

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