 When Azali took power he also pledged to step down in April 2000 and relinquish control to a democratically elected president—a pledge with mixed results.Under Mohammed Taki and Assoumani Azali, access to the state was used to support client networks which led to crumbling infrastructure that cultivated in the islands of Nzwani and Mwali declaring independence only to be stopped by French troops.Azali lacked the social obligations required to address the elders and when combined with his gross mismanagement and increasing economic and social dependence on foreign entities, made managing daily life near nonexistent in the state.