EXTRAORDINARY LEADER OF THE ORDINARY PEOPLE: A TRIBUTE TO NELSON MANDELA

After the death of the iconic legend, Nelson Madiba Rolihlahla Mandela on the 5th of December 2013' a lot of tributes were written. Hundreds, even thousands of flowing script trying to pay homage by putting his salutation in words that would endure for the rest of time.

All of the tributes merely tried to honour the man, the leader and the legend.

In my little way,this is how I tried...

NELSON MANDELA 1918-2013

Extraordinary Leader of the Ordinary People

I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all! I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.

-   Nelson Mandela from Long Walk to Freedom, 1995.

The leader: President Nelson Mandela, the visionary and great statesman as the first black president to hold the office of President of South Africa focused his government on dismantling the legacy of Apartheid through tackling institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality in order to ensure a new vision for South Africa.

The Fighter: His quest for freedom took him from the court of tribal royalty to the liberation underground to a prison rock quarry to the presidential suite of Africa’s richest country. And then, when his first term of office was up, unlike so many of the successful revolutionaries he regarded as kindred spirits, he declined a second term and handed over power to an elected successor, respected in the world and remarkably at peace.

                       

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same

 -   Nelson Mandela

The Brotherhood: Africa has indeed been blessed with other notable leaders who fought for the betterment of their countrymen and dedicated their lives to this cause amid strife and tribulations. In Nigeria, we cannot fail to mention Herbert Macaulay considered the Father of Nigerian Nationalism, Chief Obafemi Awolowo who is best remembered for his remarkable integrity, ardent nationalism and virile opposition to colonialism and Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria's first President and a vigorous champion of African independence from European colonial rule, all men who possessed unquestionable integrity, unalloyed patriotism, and enviable professional ethics of the highest order. Their contributions easily hastened the process of decolonization through the consistent and reasoned advocacy of Democracy for Nigerian unity.

Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves

 -   Nelson Mandela

The Activist: Like Kenneth Kaunda, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jnr, Mandela always kept a long view of the world he ultimately thought his people, all people, should live in. His presidency ripples with symbolic peaks on governance, clearly showcasing the ability and capacity of the African continent to rise to formerly unimagined heights of Development for its resources and its people. The fight that dominated the greater years of his life and for which he is most fondly remembered is the fight for a Democracy, an ideal government built on Freedom, Unity and Justice for all Africans.  For as posited by Amartya Sen, Indian economist and Nobel Laureate, Nelson Mandela understood that Freedom is not only the primary end of development, but also among its principal means.

But Mandela’s impact was not confined to South Africa. His release and leadership heralded a new era in Africa. Because of Mandela’s example, other countries across the continent accelerated reforms, and the possibility for a truly progressive Africa started to appear as countries deepened institutional reforms.  This foundation laid by Mandela allowed for the discussion of an African renaissance and all the possibilities therein.

I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses

 -   Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

Perhaps, it is because he was a better and wiser man, but above all else, his actions clearly showed that he was an idealist who was able to dream for South Africa specifically and Africans in general. He was able to see an Africa united by love and free of hate and discrimination. When the question was put to Mr. Mandela in an interview in 2007 — after such barbarous torment, how do you keep hatred in check? — His answer was almost dismissive: “Hating clouds the mind. It gets in the way of strategy. Leaders cannot afford to hate”.

We will remember him as the man who sought to build an inclusive society founded on democratic principles and the rule of law, setting an example for all in South Africa.

We will remember him for his ability to seek out compromise, peace and nation-building where none seemed possible to almost all around him.

We will remember him as the man that showed us that it is possible to overcome historical prejudices, forgive, reconcile and work for the common good of humanity.

Today, we celebrate the statesman and the ethicist, the pragmatist and the saint, we celebrate him in death as we attempted to emulate him in life.

NELSON MANDELA 1918-2013: Extraordinary Leader of the Ordinary People (A Tribute to Nelson Mandela) was written and composed by Zainab Haruna O.