When Yahya Jammeh came to power in a coup in 1994, more than half of the Gambians currently alive today, were not even born yet.

In a continent not exactly known for incumbents allowing elections that will end up unseating them, news that Jammeh may have accepted the results has caused considerable surprise. Rightly so too. The longer a president stays in power, the less the chance that he will give up power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

That’s why what is going on in Gambia is so significant. No current African leader who has served that long or longer, has shown even the slightest hint of leaving peacefully. Mugabe? No. Museveni? No. Kagame? God, no. Paul Biya? LOL.

It makes Goodluck Jonathan’s concession last year to Buhari pale in comparison. GEJ was not a dictator. He was democratically elected in a country that, if nothing else, had the semblance of democracy if not the spirit of it. He was elected in a country that had successfully fought off the third term ambitions of Olusegun Obasanjo.

For this concession, Jonathan was called a ‘hero’ of Nigerian democracy by some. It was not without some justification. A refusal to concede could have plunged Nigeria into uncertainty and violence.

Put in proper context, however, Jammeh’s concession is unprecedented. His rule has been one marked by brutality, with many leaving the country as migrants or asylum seekers, or being imprisoned and killed. This year, he withdrew Gambia from the International Criminal Court, and nearly a hundred activists were arrested after sustained protests. However, this time around, it became clear that the jig was up when Gambia’s opposition lined up behind one candidate and refused to back down when met with violence by security forces.

As the vote approached, internet access in Gambia was cut. By the time it was restored, celebrations had begun throughout the country, and even the continent. Gambia had entered a new era. One of Africa’s longest and most brutal dictators had been felled at the ballot box.

It is something few people saw coming. 2016 has been a scary year, as the forces of authoritarian populism have swept the developed world, threatening the consensus of decades. And then, nearly out of nowhere, Adama Barrow managed to put together a broad coalition of people who were tired of Jammeh’s reign of terror, and who wanted it to end.

While some in the West worry about the utility of democracy, in Gambia, millions celebrate the promise of democracy. The chance to have a say in your country’s future. Of course, moving forward will not always be easy, but there are few Gambians who would prefer Jammeh’s rule to the messiness of democracy.

In 2011, Jammeh thought his reign would never end. He said he would rule for a billion years, if God wills.

A billion years is not as long as it used to be.