Yesterday, Sir Ming Campbell resigned as the leader of the Liberal Democrat after a long melodrama of media-driven obsession with his age. The surprising thing is that he was seen as too old to contest for the post of the Prime Minister in the 21st century Britain, given that the Conservative party, in their conservativeness, has put forward an handsome boyish looking David Cameron as their own leader. What amazes me is that a 66 year old man is seen as too old to occupy one of the most powerful position in the world, when in Nigeria it is the other way round.
I remember arguing with my dad – as we always do during election since 1993 – about who should be the Nigerian President. We argued over Donald Duke, and my dad, like many other card-carrying members of PDP says he is too young to be the no 1 citizen of Nigeria. For heaven’s sake, at 46 the man is older than David Cameron.
What is all this fuss about age, sef. I seem not to understand why a 66 year old man is forced to resign because he is seen as unpresentable to an ageing population where one in six people are aged over 65, and why a 46 year old man is unvotable in a nation where the life expectancy is less than 40. Can someone help me please?
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