Why Sheikh Mohammed refused to become Dubai Crown Prince once

In the 18th chapter of his latest book, Qissati, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, talks about how his brother - the then ruler of Dubai - asked him to become the crown prince and he refused. He says his brother asked him again four years later and this time, he accepted.
I felt someone tap my shoulder gently to wake me up. It was my brother, Maktoum, telling me that his horse was about to give birth.
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I washed my face and followed him. My brother had two wide, gentle eyes similar to my mother's.
He was the most kindhearted of us. My father said he was like our grandfather.
He took me to the stable where the horse was giving birth.
As he saw how excited I was, he gave me instructions so I could help. Finally, the little horse was there.
I hugged it and gave it to its mother. I have so many beautiful memories with my brother, Maktoum.
He was very wise and a very good man with a great vision.
He played a very important role during the creation of the Union of the UAE.
In early 1980s, my father had serious health problems and Sheikh Maktoum managed and ruled with great wisdom and vision.
One unforgettable moment I have with my brother was when he asked me to become the crown prince of Dubai.
The first time he asked me, I refused respectfully.
A little later, he asked me the reasons for my rejection. I said that my way of ruling might annoy many and would destroy personal relations.
I was honest with him about the ideas I would adopt.
After four years, he asked me again and I never forgot that day. He told me it was time. I agreed.
People ask me what I felt in the morning when I read the decree. Actually, I didn't sleep that night, and I didn't have much time to read any papers because I started working after leaving the council.
Development was his dream, but for me, it was an instinct, a matter of life or death.
In what he is calling his "incomplete biography", His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has broken his latest book, Qissati (My Story), into 50 chapters, narrating 50 stories in his 50 years of serving the nation. Khaleej Times got a signed copy of the book from the Dubai Ruler and everyday, we will be featuring excerpts from each of the 50 chapters.