Obama Takes on Entrenched African Power Structures in Speech     By PETER BAKER  JULY 28, 2015

 

Obama Reflects on His Own PresidencyDuring a speech before the African Union on Tuesday, President Obama reflected on the end of his own tenure, saying “I’m looking forward to life after being president.”

By Associated Press on Publish Date July 28, 2015. Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times.                        Watch in Times Video »

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — president Obama confronted the power structures of Africa on Tuesday and called for long-entrenched leaders to step down, using his stature as the first American president with African roots to try to reshape the continent’s politics.

As he wrapped up what may be his final trip to Africa while in office, Mr. Obama took on one of the region’s most enduring obstacles to democratic progress: its history of one-man rule by presidents and potentates who enrich themselves and hang onto power for years, if not decades, in calcified regimes.

     “Nobody should be president for life,” Mr. Obama declared in a speech at the African Union, the continent’s umbrella organization. “Your country is better off if you have new blood and new ideas. I’m still a pretty young man, but I know that somebody with new energy and new insights will be good for my country. It will be good for yours, too, in some cases.”

     Just 18 months from mandatory retirement under the Constitution’s two-term limit, Mr. Obama used himself as a model for giving up power. “I actually think I’m a pretty good president,” he said, departing from his prepared text. “I think if I ran, I could win.”

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