News
World leaders are getting older—except in democracies
Advances in medicine over the past 50 years have allowed leaders to live longer, with 11 autocrats today aged over 75.
(The Economist)
▪︎UGC by Ohibaba.com
The advanced age of many world leaders came into sharp focus in 2024 when 81-year-old Joe Biden was pressed to withdraw from America’s presidential race over concerns about his mental acuity. Americans then elected Donald Trump who, at 78, is no spring chicken.
Mr Biden is far from the world’s oldest leader. Paul Biya, who has led Cameroon since 1982, is now 91 years old. Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is ⁷2.
The world’s two most populous countries, China and India, also have leaders in their 70s.Going into 2025, the world’s leaders are, on average, older than ever. Over the past five decades, the average age of all leaders has risen from 55 to 62.
The trend in democratic countries, however, is the opposite. The average age of freely elected leaders is 59, a bit younger than fifty years ago.
In 1975, no democratic country’s leader was under 45. Today, three are.Some are older, too: in 1975, no leader of a democratic country was older than 75.
Now five have passed this milestone, including Mr Biden and his successor.America is an outlier among democracies. Not only is it electing older presidents, its legislators are the oldest in the world.
The new administration is unlikely to change that.Meanwhile, the worldwide trend toward ageing leaders is largely being driven by autocracies.
The average dictator is now 64—12 years older than in 1975. This isn’t surprising, as autocratic leaders have historically been reluctant to give up power.
Advances in medicine over the past 50 years have allowed leaders to live longer, with 11 autocrats today aged over 75.
But the same forces letting leaders live longer affect the general population, too.
While the average leader is seven years older than 50 years ago, the average age of citizens has risen by eleven years.Older leaders are not necessarily a problem.
Experience can bring wisdom. But slowing down, physically and mentally, is inevitable with age.
Research has found older politicians are less concerned with the needs of the young, and spend less on child welfare and more on benefits for seniors.
The increase in life expectancy around the world, together with the stalling of birth rates, means that leaders have on average become more like the populations they govern.
In the years ahead, expect world leaders to become increasingly grey.
In 1975 the average age gap between leaders and their subjects was 42 years; now it is 39. But the rest of the world will be greying with them.
News
Edo House of Assembly Elect New Speaker Idiaye, Hints Why Agbebaku Resign
“Once the leadership is poor, it will drag the work of the governor backwards. So we decided to say no.”
•The new Speaker of the Edo House of Assembly, Mr Yekini Idiaye
The Edo House of Assembly has sworn in a newly elected Speaker , Yekini Idiaye, following the resignation of the former speaker, Blessing Agbebaku.
Speaking in an interview after his swearing-in ceremony in Benin, Idiaye pledged the full cooperation of the house to the state executive, describing Governor Monday Okpebholo as a performing leader who deserved legislative backings.
“He is doing a lot for the people of Edo, so we have to cooperate with him to move the state forward,” he added.
Fielding question on the exit of the former speaker, Idiaye cited the challenges of corruption and poor leadership.
Idiaye said: ” There’s corruption here and there. Every now and then it is adjournment — we resume tomorrow, adjournment for another 30 days, 20 days — and we were all not too happy with this leadership style.”
The new speaker pointed out that a weak legislature directly affected the executive, adding that the house had to act to protect the governor’s performance.
“Once the leadership is poor, it will drag the work of the governor backwards. So we decided to say no.”
News
Defence Headquarters say X Account Compromised
The Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, disclosed this in a statement, describing the incident as a cybersecurity matter.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has issued a notification to the public, media representatives, and relevant stakeholders regarding the compromise of its official account on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, disclosed this in a statement, describing the incident as a cybersecurity matter.
He said “appropriate technical measures had been activated to secure the account and prevent further unauthorised access.”
Uba assured the public that efforts were ongoing to fully restore control of the account, while advising members of the public to disregard any suspicious, unauthorised or misleading content posted from the account during the period.
The Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, has resigned following moves by some lawmakers to impeach him.
Agbebaku said his decision came after extensive consultations with his constituency and party leaders.
In related developments, other principal officers of the House, including the Majority Leader and his deputy, have been suspended.
Agbebaku had served as Speaker for six years, having assumed the position during the tenure of former Governor Godwin Obaseki. He defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the 2024 Edo governorship election.
Yekini Idiaye has emerged as the new Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly.
Watch video below:
Edo House of Assembly Elect New Speaker Idiaye, Hints Why Agbebaku Resign
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