He'll cure Africa with herbal unguents.
Sky News (see link), reported today on the President who claims to be able to cure AIDS. President Yahya Jammeh, President of The Gambia, has convinced his people that he can cure them of AIDS. The president, who has no background in medicine, claims to have a secret herbal ointment that cures those with the HIV virus. As he is the supreme power in his country no one dare admit that the ointment does nothing but leave them "greasy".
Sky news tried to get the recipe for the secret formula but the President would not divulge it. The Gambian Health Minister told Sky that : "100% the President can cure everyone. It is absolutely medically proven." By whom, I'm not sure. I looked up some information on the President and found that he has ruled The Gambia for 12 years and is an honorary citizen of the State of Georgia, USA. He is also an honorary admiral of the US fleet ("Don't even say it"), and he has an honorory doctorate in civil laws from Halifax, Canada (would that make him a "which" doctor?).
Organisations who run AIDS programmes in The Gambia fear that all their work will be undone. I share their fears. It is time African dictators stopped thinking that they have an answer for something as serious as AIDs. This is 2007, not 1910 around the bush fire with throwers of bones and bleeders of chickens!
Is it any wonder that NGO's struggle to get their message across to backward-thinking countries when they have leaders who have "called up" extra-ordinary powers. President Jammeh won't be the last.
As the Bard said: "....fire burn and cauldron bubble."