Power is a funny thing. It is very rare to see a leader who willingly and happily hands over leadership and does not cling to it as long as he can. Most examples of leaders that we have are like Gaddafi , a leader who clung to his leadership position in Libya so tightly even amidst protests all round him. There are several reasons why someone would refuse to leave a leadership position and for Gaddafi, those reasons were more than for most.
Authority to do as he pleased.
Weather constitutionally or unconstitutionally, Gaddafi had created for himself a situation where he could do as he wanted, when he wanted. After abolishing the Libyan constitution in 1951, he came up with his own rules on how a country ought to be governed. Those that dared raise a voice were branded dogs or cockroaches and unfit to live. This is one of the reasons why he clung to power so tightly, after all, who does not want to do as he pleases when he pleases?
He had ruled for too long.
Gaddafi had ruled Libya for such a long time that he considered himself a monarchy. In his green book ( a series of volumes he wrote on right and perfect leadership as he saw it) he presented a model where his kin would remain in power with the help of close friends and allies. We all know that the monarchy system of power is a system where by the leader only leaves power upon death. That is exactly what Gaddafi wanted to do.
Access to undeniable wealth.
Shorty after he took over power in Libya, Gaddafi had negotiated a deal in which foreigners would not interfere with the oil in Libya. This deal enabled him to be in charge of a lot of wealth under state property. According to Investment Watchdog, Gaddafi’s wealth a few months before he died was roughly 80 billion dollars, this made him one of the richest men in the world. This wealth consisted of state monopolies, retreats all over the country and investments in countries like USA, Canada and UK. Now tell me, who in their right mind would not cling to a leadership position that gave him access to all that wealth.
Fear.
Another reason why Gaddafi clung to power is plain old fear. Fear that once he left the position he would become irrelevant and insignificant after decades of being the top most man in Libya. Fear that once he left power his enemies would find it easier to deal with him. Its not easy for a leader not to acquire enemies and for Gaddafi, he had had such a long time,decades and decades of it, to acquire them.
Arrogance.
It is irrefutable that Libya had enjoyed a period of stability and prosperity for quite sometime. The national debt of Libya before Gaddafi was ousted from power into hiding was almost non existent. The mistake Gaddafi made was in thinking that he was the only one that could properly and rightly manage Libya. That is arrogance if you ask me. He was arrogant enough to think that no one else in Libya has the brains and knowledge for such an undertaking. I think he learned the hard way; no one is indispensable.