Middle East & Africa | A gift seldom given

Niger’s president wins the Ibrahim African leadership prize

Mahamadou Issoufou is bowing out after two terms, but leaves a troubling legacy

Taking the golden handshake
|DAKAR

FEW PRIZES are as prestigious, or as seldom awarded. In 2006 Mo Ibrahim, a Sudan-born British telecoms billionaire, endowed an annual prize for good governance in Africa. It goes to a head of government who has run a sub-Saharan country well—and has left office gracefully when it is time to go. The winner receives $5m.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “A gift seldom given”

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