Leaders ought to let go when their time is up

"When a leader tries to change the rules in the middle of the game just to stay in office," said US President Barack Obama, "it risks instability and strife as we've seen in Burundi. And this is often just a first step down a perilous path. And sometimes you'll hear leaders say, well, I'm the only person who can hold this nation together. If that's true, then that leader has failed to truly build their nation."

Mr Obama was addressing African leaders at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Africa has undoubtedly come a long way from the 1960s when many of the countries attained self-rule.