There is life after elections for former African Presidents.

In light of elections in two African countries; Nigeria and Zambia, it is time that we encouraged a culture of being magnanimous in victory, and being able to concede defeat even if one has lost by a single vote. Inevitably, there will be a winner and a loser in any election. What's so hard to understand about this point? One obvious reason why most elections are riddled with chaos in Africa is that the election contestants do not know of any life after the elections. This is why we must encourage those who will be standing for various elections, especially in Zambia and Nigeria, that there is life after elections, that the promise of democracy is that there is always a second chance.

Former African Presidents can keep themselves busy in a variety of ways. For example, they can volunteer to teach and become visiting scholars in the various universities across the continent. The young Africans need real life lessons on leadership, and former African Presidents would do well to complement what's taught in class. Throughout the world, former Presidents and Prime Ministers have acted as visiting scholars
in various universities. For instance, Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, has been a visiting scholar across many universities. Why would former African Presidents and leaders deny their citizens this rich experience. There is a program at Boston University known as the African Presidential lecture Series, in which former African leaders are invited to give a series of lectures to students. However, this is an American institution and which means that the majority of African youth will not gain from such insight. Young Africans would like to know what motivated the decisions these former African leaders made, and their mistakes if any.

Crucially, former African Presidents could engage in peace talks across the continent, and ensure that Africa becomes a peaceful and prosperous continent. While Kofi Annan has been the most notable figure in international diplomacy and peace building in Africa, there needs to be more peace builders across Africa. This is an area that former African Presidents can do quite willingly if proded upon. There are so many areas where these former African Presidents can play a role, and it would be disingenuous to suggest that there is no life after elections for them.