Nigeria president proposes single term

Africa’s presidents are not averse to constitutional amendments designed to prolong their stay in power but they rarely change the law to limit their tenure which is what, it seems, Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan is proposing.

Jonathan, who won elections this April, said he wanted to amend the constitution so that presidents would serve a single, longer term instead of the current limit of two four-year terms.

Commentators speculated the single term would be lengthened to six years.

A statement from Jonathan’s office said the move was intended to stabilise Nigeria’s hard-fought politics by shifting the focus away from elections and the frequently bloody battle to win and hold power.

“The constitutionally guaranteed two terms is not helping the focus of governance and institutionalization of democracy,” said the statement.

Violence is a mainstay of Nigeria’s politics. Jonathan’s victory in April was followed by deadly rioting that killed hundreds in northern Nigeria.

"President Jonathan is concerned about the acrimony which the issue of re-election, every four years, generates both at the federal and state levels," said the statement.

“The nation is still smarting from the unrest, the desperation for power and the overheating of the polity that has attended each general election.”

The president’s aides insist that the move is not designed to benefit their boss but critics pointed out that it is unclear whether Jonathan would stand for re-election himself in 2015 when the proposed changes would come into force.

Choosing not to would be an all-too-rare display of self-sacrifice among the continent’s leaders.