Life is about connecting with all of humanity. Connections only happen through the meeting of hearts. And the sooner those who lead us realise this truth, the better. US President Barack Obama is fully aware of this, and his visit to Kenya, the land of his father, and, later, to Ethiopia, the seat of the AU, was a resounding success. Because he knew that if he did not connect with the hearts of the people and actually feel their pulse, his trip would have been a waste of time.story_article_left1Judging by the thunderous applause he received, African leaders, among them notorious dictators, think he is pretty awesome.You could call Obama a showman, because he knows how to deliver his message. But this would be a myopic view that does not recognise the truth inherent in his message.There is, in some quarters, a fashionable antipathy towards the US. Some of it is deserved because this is, after all, a country that unilaterally launched an ugly war against Iraq.Its interventions in other parts of the world made a mockery of the US's avowal to support peace and democracy. It is also a fact that the abhorred military prison Guantánamo Bay is still standing, despite a promise to shut it down.And the gun violence and recent racist murders of unarmed people chill the blood; a sad indictment of the "land of the free and the home of the brave".But none of this means Africa must ignore its own ills, especially at leadership level.Obama was correct to remind the AU that: "I have to proclaim, democracy is not just formal elections. Some think that when the ballots have been counted and the elections declare them winners, then that is the end of democracy. It is only the beginning."He took a swipe at "leaders for life", warning them that Africa will not advance if its leaders refuse to step down when their terms end."If a leader thinks they're the only person who can hold their nation together, then that leader has failed to truly build their country," he said.I wonder what the many dictators in the room thought when their peers gave a frenzied ovation to this statement.My radio show producers, who are in their late 20s, collapsed in heaps of laughter when they realised that in some countries - Angola, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea - leaders have been in power longer than they have been alive."So if you were born in the early '80s, that president is the only one you know!" they said.story_article_right2It is a tragedy. A tragedy which African leaders, including those who applauded Obama, excuse, justify or condemn half-heartedly. These leaders are certainly not prepared to isolate the dictators in their midst.So one wonders what the applause was all about.The argument that people want to be ruled by a dictator is false. Often the constitution is changed, to allow for limitless terms, without the participation of the populace.All it takes is a vote by the majority party and government ministers who serve at the behest of the dictator. It has nothing to do with what the people want.Whether the constitution allows multiple terms or whether the politician violates the constitution to stay in power, the result is the same: a shameful narcissist who has put his ego above principle.In Kenya, Obama admitted that there is corruption in his own country. We know there is corruption everywhere - and we should be explicit in our condemnation of it.The debate is not that corruption happens everywhere. It is corruption that goes unpunished that is of utmost concern.This continent has been through a lot. Its people deserve much better and should demand better for themselves - especially when it comes to leaders...