When Leaders Outlive Nations: Africa’s Gerontocrats and the Diaspora’s Billions

Cameroon’s Paul Biya, at 92 years old, is once again seeking re-election; extraordinary in a country where most citizens have never known another leader. Across the continent, strongmen remain firmly in power: Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in Equatorial Guinea, and Alassane Ouattara in Ivory Coast are just a few of the long-serving rulers who have shaped politics for entire generations. In much of Africa, children are born, grow up, and even raise families under the same presidents.

Meanwhile, Africans abroad are sustaining their homelands in a different way. Remittances have become a lifeline, with nearly $100 billion sent back every year. Nigeria leads the continent as one of the world’s largest remittance recipients, followed closely by Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda, where diaspora funds often outpace foreign aid and fuel entire economies. Yet these flows are now under threat: as Joe Biden’s America hardens its immigration policies, Europe tightens its borders, and global economies slow down, this fragile safety net faces mounting pressure.

This episode unpacks Africa’s paradox: entrenched leaders like Biya, Museveni, and Obiang hold on to power at home, while millions abroad—from London to New York to Dubai -keep their nations afloat through remittances. What happens when both pillars—the political and the economic- begin to crack?