Mugabe resigns, Zimbabwe: What next after Mugabe?

     Yesterday was a turning point in the history of Zimbabwe. Its long-standing dictator, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, was forced to resign. The nonagenarian despot surrendered with great reluctance. If he had the chance, he would have rejected the last and only option and insisted on a thoughtless and illegitimate tenure elongation. But, the old man could not dare its costly implications. He started well as a leader; a nationalist with an enviable record of struggle against colonisalism. But, being power drunk, he ended on a sore note as a spent force.

     There was no escape route for the leader who now has to endure the shame of rejection for it. Impeachment was dangling on his head. Gone with the winds was his succession plan to hand over to his wife, Grace. A farewell ceremony was not even contemplated 37 years after. Mugabe was deserted. Although he attempted a heroic resistance, it was futile. Mugabe told his psychological tormentors that he looked forward to presiding over the party congress next month. He was actually day-dreaming. The handwritings were bold on the wall. He chose to ignore it. Now, he bears the consequence of pomposity, high-handedness, impunity, corruption of power and dictatorship.

The lesson is instructive. Leaders should always aspire to become statesmen. They should learn to leave the stage when the ovation is loud. They should thread the Mandela path of honour and vacate the stage for the younger ones to continue the work of development and the unfinished struggle for a better society. They should know that, in the final analysis, power is transient and no condition is permanent.

   As he leaves the seat of government, Mugabe may not proceed on a blissful retirement. The ghost of his tragic acts and misdeeds may continue to hunt him. The emotional wrenching may be underscored by the lack of opportunity to repent and correct past mistakes. Zimbabwe will definitely be hot for him. In memory of the horror of 37 years, the environment may not be safe. Therefore, his exile in South Africa is a relief to his anxious family and associates. His contributions to national development may have also ended. Successive leaders may not consult him for advice or believe that he has any good thing to offer outside power.