Gambian president may become king

Posted By Joshua Keating Wednesday, November 10, 2010 - 5:35 PM Share

The Gambia's title-obsessed president -- he prefers to be addressed as His Excellency the President Sheik Professor Alhaji Doctor Yahya Jammeh -- may soon be adding a new one to his letterhead: 

Tribal chieftains are touring the country to rally support for President Yahya Jammeh's coronation.

"The president has brought development to the country, and for that he deserves to be crowned King of The Gambia," said Junkung Camara, chief of the western region of Foni Brefet. "This is the only way the Gambian people can express our gratitude to a leader who has done a lot for his country."

This would be very much in keeping for Jammeh, whose obsession with honorifics even led him to claim an admiralship in the fictitious "Nebraska Navy" earlier this year. 

Generally speaking, the global trend has obviously been away from kings in recent years. Nepal did away with its centuries-old monarchy in 2007. Members of the British Commonwealth may drop the whole institution after Queen Elizabeth's reign ends. South Africa culled its tribal kings over the summer. Tiny Swaziland is now the only monarchy left in Sub-Saharan Africa.

As an opposition journalist quoted in the piece points out, Jammeh already has absolute political power so not much would change if he were made king, beyond yet another ego boost. Plus, the Kims have shown -- and the Qaddafis and Mubaraks likely will soon -- it's quite possible to have hereditary succession while at least superficially adhering to a post-enlightenment political model. 

SEYLLOU/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:AFRICA
 

TOMBERT

5:36 AM ET

November 12, 2010

Monarchy in Africa

Just a couple of points.

Swaziland is not the only monarchy in sub-Sahara Africa; there is also the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The term "British Commonwealth" ceased to exist sometime in the 1960s, it is called the Commonwealth of Nations. Of the over 50 member nations, 16 are constitutional monarchies whose sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II, they are known collectively as the "Commonwealth Realms". Other members, like Tonga and Malaysia, have their own dynasties, and the rest, including Gambia, are republics. It is no longer a "British" institution, as shown by the decision last year to admit Rwanda, a former Belgian colony, as a full member.

As to Mr Jammeh's regal ambitions, well they just make a mockery of all the dedicated and successful monarchs all over the world. Remember, some of the most successful and stable democracies in the world today are monarchies; Japan, Canada, Australia, Bhutan, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway etc. There is nothing old fashioned about a good king.

 

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