By Sulaimon Olanrewaju
Nigerian Tribune
Nigerian Tribune
If he had died during his incarceration either at the redoubtable Robben Island or the dreadful Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town, Dr Nelson Mandela would most likely have gone down in history as a loathed and dreaded terrorist because many Western countries regarded the armed struggle through which members of the African National Congress (ANC) expressed their frustration about the apartheid regime in South Africa as antithetical to their interests. They decried the indiscriminate attacks of the group on people and government establishments and their reaction to his death would have been ‘good riddance to bad rubbish.’
The intensity of Western countries’ animosity against the gaoled freedom fighter was such that the Ronald Reagan administration in the United States of America labelled him a terrorist while the ANC was put on the American official list of terrorist groups. Mandela’s name headlined the list till 2008 despite having served as his country’s first black president and winning the Nobel Prize for Peace. His planned visit to the USA in 2008 had to be put on hold until he could get a special waiver from the office of the Secretary of State. His name was only removed from the list after former president George W. Bush signed into law a bill that took the label ‘terrorist’ off members of the ANC.
In the same vein, former British Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, was quoted as saying that “The ANC is a typical terrorist organisation … Anyone who thinks it is going to run the government in South Africa is living in cloud-cuckoo land.” At the height of his anger, a British parliamentarian, Teddy Taylor, said “Nelson Mandela should be shot.” Some British parliamentarians even had ‘Hang Nelson Mandela’ badges which they wore with astonishing pride.
The Western world’s perception of Nelson Mandela was awfully appalling.
But between 1990, when he regained his freedom after more than 27 years of imprisonment, and December 5, when he breathed his last, the image of the Madiba, as he is popularly referred to, had transformed so tremendously that leaders of countries which once abhorred him beat themselves to pay homage to him. In the twilight of his years, he became the toast of the civilised world. In the spate of 23 years, Mandela became a global icon; he transited from being abhorred to being adored; he moved from being tolerated to being celebrated; he moved from being an object of revulsion to an object of attention; he transited from being a hate figure to becoming a peace icon.
His memorial service which held on December 10 was one of the biggest gatherings of international dignitaries in recorded human history, with 91 heads of states in attendance. The service is said to rival other significant state funerals such as the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II, which had in attendance four kings, five queens, 70 presidents and prime ministers and leaders of 14 other faiths. It is said to have drawn more dignitaries than the funerals of Princess Diana and Michael Jackson combined.
The significance of the service transcends the number of world leaders in attendance as it also served as a forum for bringing together avowed foes.
President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, shook hands with Raul Castro, Cuban president, at the event. That would be the second time in 50 years that leaders of the two countries would do that as both countries have had limited ties for over half a century. The US has maintained a trade embargo against Cuba for decades.
Similarly, other foes like former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, were brought together by the service. Blair had called Mugabe a dictator who should have been removed from power. Mugabe, on the other hand, called Blair an imperialist who should ‘go to hell’.
Speaking at the event, United Nations Secretary, Ban Ki Moon, said “He has done it again. We see leaders representing many points of view, and people from all walks of life all here, united.”
Mandela’s journey to global statesmanship commenced the day he stepped out of prison. While addressing a crowd that had gathered at Cape Town to receive him when he was released, he did not rail against those who imprisoned but rather spoke of the need for the country to be united. He said, “The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as it always has been. No individual leader is able to take on this enormous task on his own.”
Madiba had also repeated a statement he made during his trial in 1964 when he said, “I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.’’
He went ahead to cooperate with the government of President Frederik W. De Klerk and other freedom fighters to bring the regime of apartheid to an end without the resurgence of violence.
But the big moment for Mandela was when he became president. In his inaugural speech delivered in Soweto on May 10, 1994, he said, “The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.”
Continuing he said, “We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.”
Mandela fulfilled his promise of uniting the peoples of his country by setting up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995. The essence of the commission was to help heal the country and bring about a reconciliation of its people by uncovering the truth about human rights violations that had occurred during the period of apartheid. Its emphasis was on gathering evidence and obtaining information from both victims and perpetrators and not on prosecuting individuals for past crimes.
The commission released the first five volumes of its final report on October 29, 1998, and the remaining two volumes of the report on March 21, 2003.
Through this commission, Mandela led his country to genuine reconciliation and healing of past hurts. He could have encouraged the blacks who had been subjected to decades of subjugation and humiliation to pay back their oppressors in their own coin but he refrained from that, opting instead for permanent unification of the peoples of South Africa.
Unlike many Nigerian leaders who are divisive and deliberately set the people against one another for their personal benefit, Mandela led the blacks to see the wrongs they suffered as their contributions to the birthing of a nation of equal opportunities for all its citizens.
His efforts paid off as South Africa under his leadership became a united country built on the plank of justice. With justice in place, the entrepreneurship spirit of the average South African became unleashed. Thus, South Africa is not just a growing democracy; it is also a thriving economy.
The world took notice of Mandela’s selfless leadership which brought his country out of the throes of segregation and lauded him for it. His life became a model for many world leaders and his style an example. His rating was so high that he was listed thrice by the Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people on earth. The import of this played out when he died as he was mourned across cultures and religious persuasions.
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