Why Jonathan Did Not Win My Prize – Mo Ibrahim

Sudanese-British entrepreneur and billionaire, Dr Mohamed “Mo” Ibrahim, has spoken up about why former president, Goodluck Jonathan did not win the coveted Mo Ibrahim award for excellent African leadership.

Goodluck Jonathan, who won the Martin Luther King human rights award, was widely expected to win the $5 million leadership prize, which is meant for a “former African Executive Head of State or Government,” who “was democratically elected, served his or her constitutionally mandated term, demonstrating exceptional leadership and left office in the last three years”.

However, Dr Mohamed “Mo” Ibrahim disagreed stating in an interview with Newsday that “excellence means excellence”. “Yes, exactly, it’s not because we are Africans, we have to accept substandard; excellence means excellence. “He said.

“It’s a prize for excellence, it’s not an entitlement or a pension – we really seek excellence.  “The criteria are simple; we are looking for a leader who came to power democratically and transparently, then moved his country forward, made important key decisions which helped its people and then bowed out gracefully at the end of his or her period, “He added

Ibrahim insisted that the prize is meant for unsung heroes in Africa, who do not really care about the $5 million prize money, and the $200,000 prize for life thereafter.