Author
By Dr Abdul Rahman Lamin
Nelson Mandela is no more. The revered anti-apartheid hero and global icon, finally answered the call of nature last Thursday when he died peacefully in his sleep, at his home in Johannesburg. Ever since the sad news was broken to the world by South African President, Jacob Zuma, reactions have poured in from all corners of the globe. From world leaders to ordinary citizens, the messages of condolence to the Mandela family, and for that matter, the broader South African family, have overwhelmingly sought to extol the virtues of this great son of Africa.
The tributes for the most part have been largely celebratory of a remarkable life dedicated entirely to the fight against injustice, and the promotion of racial harmony and national unity in South Africa. To be sure, Mandela’s leadership in the struggle against apartheid came at a serious personal price not only to him, but also his family, community, and indeed the millions of ordinary people on whose behalf he, and other great stalwarts, stood up.
After 27 years of incarceration, 17 of which were spent in solitary confinement on the notorious Robben Island, Mandela emerged from prison with renewed vigour not only to forgive his oppressors, but also determined to unite all South Africans across race and class. His determination to promote racial harmony in South Africa, against the backdrop of centuries of institutionalised racism epitomized by both the colonial and apartheid systems which oppressed majority of the country’s population, won Mandela the admiration of the world. His death has now bequeathed to us, and indeed future generations, a rich legacy of human dignity and courage. Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, a long time protégé of Mandela, and himself a hero of the anti-apartheid struggle, put it best when he referred to Mandela as “a gift from God” during a memorial service he led in Cape Town, shortly after the passing of Madiba, his clan name by which he was fondly called. In essence, the man was simply above the ordinary, almost saintly in that respect, and for that humanity has been blessed to have him with us for this long.
As the world bid farewell to this great man, before he is finally laid to rest in his home town of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, it is extremely crucial that we also start reflecting on what Mandela has meant to us as human beings, and more importantly how will succeeding generations remember him? What kind of a legacy will be associated with him? What impact would Mandela’s departure have on South Africa’s ongoing experiment of building a truly inclusive rainbow nation, where all will be judged and appreciated not by the “color of their skin, but by the content of their character” to borrow from the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an equally revered civil rights leader of the Mandela generation. What lessons in leadership has Mandela’s life bequeathed to the current generation of African leaders?
To address these and other related questions, we should put Mandela’s life into some context, and here, I dare to quickly raise three simple but rather compelling virtues which symbolised his life, and by which succeeding generations will remember him. These are: courage, selflessness and humility. As an activist and a leader in the struggle against apartheid and racial domination, Mandela demonstrated tremendous courage, albeit this came with a heavy cost to him personally. As the courageous leader that he was, Mandela was prepared to pay that price and to champion a cause for which he was “prepared to die” as he famously said during his Rivonia trial.
As an activist before his incarceration, and after taking the mantle of the presidency in South Africa in 1994, Mandela was a selfless leader. Here, it is important to underscore the importance of the environment and indeed the personalities that helped shape his life. Mandela was always the first to acknowledge that credit for the victory against apartheid should not be accorded him alone. Although his name and life came to symbolise the struggle, he was by no means the only hero. His very early contact with the likes of Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Oliver Tambo, Ahmed Kathrada and so many other unsung heroes of the struggle helped to shape who Mandela ultimately became.
As a member of the African National Congress (ANC) both in and outside prison, Mandela came to understand that he was a leader of a broader movement, and thus their focus should always be on fighting for the greater good, rather than seeking to promote selfish interests. That virtue was clearly demonstrated by him, when after only one term as President of South Africa, he chose to step down from office and make way for the next generation of leaders to take the struggle to the next level, in a continent where smooth transfer of power by leaders remains a major challenge, albeit improving.
It is conceivable that had Mandela decided to hang on to power following his transformation from prisoner to president, he would have had virtually little or no resistance from friends and foes alike (to paraphrase the renowned Reggae band Culture). This is clearly a lesson that current and future generations of political leaders must learn from Mandela. After all, there is still life after the presidency, as Mandela’s post-presidential life amply illustrated, with his involvement in so many humanitarian causes, ranging from HIV/AIDS advocacy, to peacemaking in Burundi.
Humility is also a major part of the colossal legacy that Mandela has bequeathed to us. Known to be a man of modesty, his life epitomised the humble beginnings from which he came - though he was born to royalty. One has the distinct feeling that his interpretation and indeed understanding of royalty did not translate to a “master-servant” relationship in his dealings with his people.
Following his retirement from the presidency, Mandela spent a lot of time with his people in his rural home town of Qunu, living a modest life and doing all he could to understand the people's problems, with a view to seeking solutions for them. That is the kind of leadership that is ever so missing in many of our communities today. Rather, leaders have been transformed into demons that are no longer recognised by their own people. Mandela’s life is an open book for us leaders to learn from.
By far the greatest challenge ahead, following the departure of Mandela, is how to maintain his legacy of a “harmonious” rainbow nation which he fought so hard to create, one in which all South Africans would truly explore their potential and benefit from their nation’s tremendous wealth.
Mandela’s message of reconciliation which came to symbolise his presidency was to a large extent successful in averting mayhem, in the aftermath of apartheid in South Africa. However, two decades after the demise of apartheid, the main threat to political stability and social cohesion in South Africa today remains inequality, both among the races, as well as along class lines. Mandela’s successor, former President Thabo Mbeki, was famous in pushing for dismantling the “two economies” that still remain a reality in South Africa. Long-term peace, social harmony and national unity will only be guaranteed when the necessary condition is created for all South Africans, irrespective of race and class to have an appreciable piece of the economic pie. The political struggle may have been won, thanks to the courage, selflessness and humility of Mandela and his generation, but the struggle for economic emancipation remains the real challenge to confront now. Indeed, as Kenyan political thinker and elder statesman, Ali Mazrui, once put it, the compromise in South Africa led to a transfer of the “political crown” to the blacks, with the whites holding on to the “economic jewel.” That is the challenge that the current and next generation of leaders must address, if they are to build a peaceful, harmonious and socially cohesive South Africa.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Lamin is Programme Specialist in Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO Office in Accra, Ghana. Prior to joining UNESCO in 2009, Dr. Lamin spent six years in South Africa, where he was Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg.
(C) Politico 12/12/13
