Mandela
Mandela’s greatness casts shadow on legacies of other African heroes, AKEEM LASISI writes
“Daddy, come and see Mandela,”
five-year-old Toluwani beckoned his father to a photograph in a daily
newspaper the child was flipping through. That was the third day after
the world hero, Nelson Mandela, who was buried on Sunday, passed away.
In their Ogba, Lagos home, the father
honoured the boy with an encouraging glance. But what dawned on him
mostly is the fact that the celebration that greeted the death had been
so ample and insistent that even children were fast becoming authorities
in the evocation of the phenomenon called Madiba.
The huge celebration had continued till
Sunday when Mandela was buried amid more eulogies, and the honour is
bound to linger on even now that his body has ultimately embraced the
earth.
The fact is that if there is anyone that
death has elevated into an almost incredible height, Nelson Mandela is
the one. Headlines of probably hundreds of newspapers and magazines in
different parts of the world in the past two weeks well symbolise this.
From ‘The world mourns’, to the likes of ‘The world stands still’, ‘The
world rises’ and ‘Bye bye Madiba’, every editor has had to hunt for the
most impressive terms with which to depict the significance of the
development. It is thus not surprising that the ceremony peaked on
Sunday with military, traditional, artistic and other forms of iconic
rites marking the burial in his village, Qunu.
If Africans’ belief about death is
anything to go by, there is a consolation here. In the African tradition
a dead man is not gone forever; he is only transcending to another
world – the world beyond where his ancestors are waiting for him. If
this is to be believed, it means that Mandela will be received with
another kind of heavenly pomp, especially by African leaders that had
gone before him. The intriguing issue here, however, is that the feast
that greeted Mandela’s death has been so elaborate that it seems to have
drowned the contributions that several other legends, especially some
political leaders, made.
In modern history, true heroes are rare
in Africa - in the real sense of the phrase. If there were many of
them, the continent would not have been in the generally sorry case it
is today. But as scholar and writer, Dr. Bayo Adebowale, notes, Mandela
deserves all the accolades he has got, but this is not to say that some
other African leaders have also not served their countries or the
continent as much as they could.
According to the director of cultural
studies at The Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, in the
Nigerian situation, the likes of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr.
Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Sir Tafawa Balewa did their best
during the nationalist struggles.
He says, “Mandela deserves all the
iconic titles we can ascribe to him, no doubt. He was an exemplary
fighter, one whose tenacity in pursuing his goal – a noble goal – and
dedication to the freedom of his people was unparalleled. You can
imagine what it means to remain a captive of the apartheid government
for 27 years. Even those that were outside prisons during the time
experienced all forms of oppression and humiliation, let alone those who
were imprisoned.
You need to read Athol Fugard’s play Sizwe Bansi is Dead and
many other books that document the era to appreciate what it takes to
be black in South Africa then. As was the case with Bansi the
protagonist, the victims went as far as compromising their identities to
stay afloat. But Mandela stood his ground in the prison yard.
“What we should, however, also
acknowledge is the fact that every situation produces its own hero. The
experience that Mandela and his people went through is different from
those of other nationalists and pan Africans that include Kwame Nkrumah
of Ghana. Mind you, these people also battled colonialists who, though
might not have been as desperate as the likes of Bothas, were also not
prepared to easily relinquish power.”
Adebowale adds that like Mandela, even
when the other heroes held political offices, they did their best, which
is far better than what many rulers exhibit today.
“For the Nigerian nationalists, the love
of their people, and striving to fulfil the people’s collective
aspirations were paramount on their minds. During the First Republic,
Awolowo, Balewa, Azikiwe and their colleagues initiated what promised a
first class economy, the one that was enviable globally.
There was no
free oil then, but the rubber, groundnut pyramid and cocoa revolution
was visible in air. Ask any enlightened person for the South West, who
can clearly hear the voice of his conscience to estimate the difference
that Awolowo made with free education .
You can simply not quantify it.
Now, does Mandela’s indisputable greatness take anything away from the
value of a man like Awo? No. This therefore means that Mandela’s death
should inspire us to expand the scope of our reflection about our past
as a people.“
Adebowale, who has authored many books that include The Virgin and Out of His Mind,
notes that where the challenge lies is among the present crop of
leaders who, he says, need to rise above petty sentiments and embrace
higher ideals predicated on the socio-economic emancipation of the
continent.
In the light of Adebowale’s argument,
many will also recall the roles that the likes of former President
Julius Nyerere played in Tanzania, where he preached and practised
equality and prudence; and efforts that Festus Mogae former Botswana
President, winner of the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African
Leadership made. Since he won the prize for good governance in 2008, no
other African leader has been considered worth enough to get the crest.
Interestingly, Mandela was an honorary
winner of the laurel, which was, however, also won by Joaquim Chissano
of Mozambique in 2005, for bringing peace and democracy to his country.
But back to Mandela! The world,
undoubtedly, buried one of its best on Sunday. His credential to
greatness was sacrifice and total commitment to the emancipation of his
people. Only too few people can deny themselves freedom and other
goodies of life in the cause of fighting for others. Mandela did so.
He refused to bend or bow to oppression.
He did not sell his people into slavery. He did not ‘cross-carpet’ or
abandon the struggle for selfish gains. He did not deceive his people.
He did not annul any election. He did not steal his country’s money. He
did not turn corruption into an idol. He did not seek second term, let
alone the third or the endless round like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. As
he thus went home on Sunday, he departed with a big bag of enviable
values.
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