You feel indestructible when young. It was fairly normal in my youthful days – I am sure it still happens today- for us to leave the office for a night club or leave a nightclub for office. Journalism, with its flexible working conditions, blurred the lines demarcating work and leisure even further. Smoking and drinking started early in the newsroom and went far into the night.

The newsroom had no closing time and therefore, had no drinking time. Along with press conferences, going for cocktails, dinners and even attending nightclubs were considered work. Whatever happened during this time was par for the course. And on production nights, it was not unusual for Editors to leave the office at midnight for a couple of hours before returning to put the ‘paper to bed’. None of this meant the following day would be work free. Now that an ordinary evening outing takes its toll on my body, I can’t help but think of ‘the years of abuse’ we subjected our bodies to back in the day.

Unfortunately, it is not only the body which has slowed down as a result of age. The mind has as well. I currently find it difficult to remember things that used to be at my fingertips. When a few years ago, a friend reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 at his place of work, he confided in me that he knew his productivity had reduced and that he had sometimes found himself dosing off at meetings and even at retreats and seminars. It was his body telling him it couldn’t cope with the rigours of waking up at 5 am and sleeping at 11 pm everyday any longer.

A few weeks ago, Professor Olatunji Dare, 80, announced the imminent retirement of his long running column. He had, for years, been one of the leading lights in the literary firmament of our newspapers. One of his reasons was that he did not want to become a rambling, incoherent old man. Although I somehow felt a personal sense of loss at the news, I could relate to it. I am already wondering how much longer I can keep this column without sounding dull and boring, even to myself. Very few people in their 70s and 80s are at their productive best and pushing themselves to remain in public consciousness or public service in old age is really stretching it.

There is therefore, always a need to pass the torch. But politicians all over the world think otherwise. Like wine, they believe they actually get better with age. President Joe Biden had passed his sell-by-date but he couldn’t see it. The world saw it, Americans saw it, the polls saw it, even his supporters saw it. We all saw the gradual degeneration of his body and knew his mind wasn’t that far behind. The shuffles had become more pronounced; the gaffes had become more frequent. Biden in his younger days was a fiery, persuasive speaker.

As a Biden supporter, I resorted these days, to holding my breath whenever he was speaking, especially off the prompter, for fear of another embarrassing gaffe. But like most politicians, he held on, testing the loyalty – apologies to Raji Fashola – of even his most ardent supporters. Weeks before the Biden/Trump debate, I asked a friend whom she was going to vote for and she simply replied ‘Neither. They are both too old for me’. Another friend, a Biden supporter – or a Trump hater- believed the debate would be the defining moment for him. It was to be for a lot of people. A slight stammerer by nature, Biden was so incoherent on the day that his physical as well as mental limitations were accentuated.

He made Trump, another old man, look young and smart. The whispers of sympathy thereafter became a cacophony of dissent. Still he doubled down as his rating plummeted. In the end, the pressure, the system and his inherent decency prevailed. Biden is basically a decent, humane man with a long history of service for his country. His legacy stands, although marred by two avoidable wars and a high cost of living for the working class. And because of his integrity and humanness, many people around the world believe that a faltering Biden is still better for the world than a healthy Trump. But being the President of a country is an exacting, exhausting job that only the physically fit and mentally alert should seek. When he decided to put self-interest aside and opted to pass the torch to his Vice President, hope became renewed for Democrats and for America, while the rest of the world felt relieved. 

At home, we have in President Tinubu, a man whose physical conditions are not too far from Biden’s. The shuffles are not yet near as bad as Biden’s but they are obvious. Hopefully they would hold out for the next three years. Like Biden, I also hold my breath when Tinubu is speaking off the cuff for as little as five minutes for fear of a gaffe. Again, they don’t come quite so often. Our President is a hard worker; has always been. But he doesn’t look a healthy man. Like many his age, including those colleagues I opened the article with, years of youthful physical abuse and probable lack of exercise have taken their toll. It is time to use his famed talent hunting ability to look for a successor. Or simply pass the torch to his Vice President. Nigeria needs the vigour of youth and the eloquence of youth. But I hear 2027 is on the horizon for him and his body language seems to assert this. There is however, still time to build his legacy and thereafter do what is right for himself and the country.

Speaking of age and legacy, I took a closer look at Alhaji Aliko Dangote recently and discovered his head is now almost covered in snow. Age has finally caught up with this youthful looking man. I hope he has groomed a successor. His legacy is certain as a foremost Nigerian who did his best to industrialize his country. But whoever his successor is, it is unlikely to have the political clout of Dangote. From the visits of Past Presidents, past CBN Governor, to current high-ranking government officials including the recent visit of the Senate President, it is sometimes easy to think Dangote refinery belongs to government. Nobody else can turn a private business concern into a public concern. No one else for that matter, can take on the cabals the way he has done. Unfortunately, nobody lives forever and pretty soon, the physical shuffles and mental incoherence will start to manifest on this Africa’s foremost and richest businessman. The time to pass the torch is not too far away.