I do not care what people say about me. Right now, I care about my country, I care about Egypt. — Hosni Mubarak, former President of Egypt, in an interview with a French television journalist.

MUHAMMAD Hosni Mubarak, 82, easily Egypt’s most famous hero of the 1973 successful surprise attack on Israeli forces occupying the East Bank of the Suez Canal, fled from power on Friday after 30 years in power.

The former Air Force pilot spoke sentimentally about Egypt a few days before an 18-day protest, spawned by similar agitations in Tunisia, ended his tyranny.

Mubarak, successor to Anwar Sadat, who Islamic fundamentalists gunned down at a military parade on October 6, 1981, clung to power, helped by the hypocrisy of the United States of America, which rewarded his undemocratic rule because Mubarak provided military bases for the American interests in Asia, especially the Middle East.

With dictators, more so when they have the backing of the Americans, all things seem possible. Mubarak loved Egypt so much, but without its peoples who he suppressed beyond comparison. His arrogance in his finals days, popping out offers to starve off the opposition showed his desperation, remarkable delusions about power, and his centrality to Egypt’s affairs.

In 1993, Mubarak was elected for a sixth term with 96.3 per cent of the vote, riding on the wave of approvals of his handling of fundamentalists. There were several plots to assassinate Mubarak in 1992, 1993 and 1995, including one during an Organisation of Africa Unity summit in Addis Ababa. The plots resulted in more crackdown on the opposition, torture, summary executions, intimidation of the press, and other human rights violations.

By the time he left a tattered country, Mubarak had ruled Egypt longer than anyone since 1850. He led Egypt to a position of power within the Arab world. He maintained peace with Israel and lessened the influence of religious extremism. He was the most powerful leader in the Arab world.

Fables about Mubarak’s wealth are legendary. Estimates put it between $40 billion and $70 billion. His real worth remains unknown. The money is most unlikely to be in Egyptian banks.

He ran the country without constitution for 30 years, at the peak of Egypt’s construction industries that handled development projects in the Nile basin, and the all-important Suez Canal through which about 4 per cent of the world’s oil shipments pass.

Chronic unemployment, like in Tunisia was the biggest factor in driving millions of enraged Egyptian youths into the streets, demanding change. They saw the success of this form of protest in Tunisia and though the military was behind Mubarak, one of their own, peoples power won again.

Mubarak is out of power, but with a loyal army in place, he may still be able to influence the future of Egypt more than he battered its past. Yet the lesson remains that for every dictator, the party will be over one day. He may never be in a position to decide the manner of his exit.

Who is next in Africa’s long list of dictators?