What African leaders should learn from Mandela

December 13, 2013

In July 18, 1918, the South African village of Mvezo in Transkei, a region bordering the Indian Ocean, witnessed the birth of a son. To this people, it was just the birth of another child whose welcome into the world is associated with tribal songs and rites. But to the world, though no special stars were seen in the sky, the day heralded the birth of a leader whose name will resound throughout the annals of human history.

I came across Nelson Mandela’s story at an early age, from an.............

uncle whose love for Mandela’s zeal to fight for freedom and Mahatma Ghandi’s model of peaceful revolution was always an inspiration. My late uncle would furnish me with beautiful and inspiring stories of these two men whose lives were synonymous with peace and courage in their quest for freedom, stories which were further explained by Majek Fashek’s freedom song titled ‘Free Mandela.’

A peep into the life of Mandela will show, with increasing accuracy, the true meaning of a leader and what leadership is all about. After spending 27 years of his prime in confinement because of his battle against injustice and oppression from the white supremacist rule – popularly known as the apartheid, he came out with a steely resolve and discipline to forgive and reconcile with his white oppressor, define a new leadership concept for a new Africa and chart a new, hate-free and progressive South Africa with the abundance of opportunities and promises for its citizens.

As a president of a new South Africa, Mandela fought, with his energy, time and resources, to make sure the near volatile country was always kept united. He encouraged the blacks to accept and love the whites and put aside their political differences aside for the betterment of everyone. His political speeches were like musical concerts and deeply meaningful. He always preached to the people to embrace the soothing powers of peace, reconciliation and forgiveness, more than any world leader had ever done.

At the time when it was thought impossible for an African leader to spend only one term in any political office because of their unimaginable levels of greed and unabashed love for power, Mandela told the world, by his action, that it is very possible. He served just one term as a president of the new South Africa. This move, in association with his principle of reconciliation and forgiveness, is what transformed him into demi god in Africa and around the world.

If the pre-prison Mandela was a threat, a terrorist, to the conservative governments in the United States and Britain under Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, respectively and to many world powers, the post-prison Mandela is an example of the three fundamental concepts of forgiveness, reconciliation and collaboration and these are the characteristics that brought him the world revered Nobel peace prize for his fight for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new, democratic South Africa.

Personally, one word I’ll correlate with Mandela is courage. Mandela is an example of courage spiced with humility and selflessness. Despite all the odds against him – a rough childhood, growing up in a deeply segregated country, a 27 years of solitary confinement and various personal and political irregularities, he transformed himself from a political prisoner to a respected president to a global icon celebrated for saving the world against the devastating consequences of war, poverty and oppression.

What lessons would African leaders learn from Nelson Mandela?

African leaders must understand that a life of value is far, and more, important than the live of vain wealth. Today, no one associates Mandela with material things, no one associates him with choice cars, private jets and palatial mansions. All Mandela has is a value reputation, a reputation that is geared towards making the world a better place. Mandela has a reputation capital that is still tenable in the global market even after his death. Mandela is a trusted brand world over, a trans-generational legacy made in Africa and given as an example to the world.

African leaders must understand that it takes the mentality of responsibility, not the position of authority, to build lasting legacies for themselves. Mandela’s deep sense of responsibility was what made him embark on the painful life of a freedom fighter. As a president, he was responsible for the positive, immense and radical transformations that have taken place in South-Africa. In one of his speeches, he declared boldly that “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land (South Africa) will again experience the oppression of one by another. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement.” It takes a highly responsible mind to make such speech and take the drastic actions to make that possible.

African leaders must understand the need for tolerance and reconciliation. In a continent riddled with so much hate and suspicion in its political environment, Mandela showed that it is possible to work with fierce opposition and critics side by side. He believed in the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,  which holds that “the will of the people shall be the basis of authority of the government.” He understands that bitterness and bickering will never create a harmonious society, thus he created an all encompassing platform for peaceful resolutions. As president, He went further by encouraging people to criticise his policies because he understands that critics make him acknowledge his blind side and enable him see things entirely differently.

African leaders must learn from Mandela’s unflinching understanding of the need for patriotism. Without a patriotic spirit, there’s no way Mandela would have endured all he went through and achieved all he has gotten. Even, in his prison days, when the goings were unclear and the plans hugely hazy, it was the deep sense of patriotism, with an eye on a better future for South Africans, that acted as the fire igniting all his inherent political potentials.

The world will miss Nelson Mandela. 5th of December, 2013 will forever be written in the sands of time and on the plasters of history. Posterity will read about this great man that changed the future of South Africa, the Africa continent and the world at large.

In the poem, ‘His Day is Done’, written on behalf of the American people, another sage, Maya Angelou, writes: “Nelson Mandela’s day is done. We confess it in tearful voices. Yet we lift our own to say thank you. Thank you, our Gideon. Thank you, our David, our great, courageous man. We will not forget you. We will not dishonour you. We will remember and be glad that you lived among us, that you taught us and that you loved us all.”

South Africa has lost her greatest son. Africa has lost her most liberating soul; the most potent symbol of continental unity. Today, the world is in darkness because its  brightest light has been extinguished. May it be said that I lived in the times of Nelson Mandela, the brightest light of our generation and many generations to come