Ubuntu (A Tribute To Nelson Mandela) By Onyeka Kerous Ibeanusi

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Nelson Mandela was never a South African hero neither was he an African legend, he was simply the world’s superhero in reality unlike the scripted Hollywood superhero movies; Nelson Mandela was real and dwelt amongst us.

As the world mourns his painful exit and celebrates his wonderful life, struggles and legacies, I feel very proud to have witnessed the era of the great Madiba.

Mandela was an African leader with a universal approach and a global touch. A true African who actually lived; majority of the other African Leaders merely existed.

Africa has been notorious for producing some of the worse leaders the world has ever seen. Leaders like Abacha, Mobutu Seseseko, Idi Amin, Muammar Ghadaffi etc. Hence the strong popular believe by even indigenous Africans that the black man cannot effectively rule himself.

Nigeria is a typical example of the aforementioned notion where a fraction of the population believes that the British left too soon which contributed to our underdevelopment. But the Mandela’s case shows that effective leadership is colour blind.

Mandela is a classic example of great leader without a barrier. Most of us grew up knowing his name and how he spent 27 years in prison, but it wasn’t until 2008 that I actually read his biography and that of Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

I read how he was expelled from school for standing for what is right and fighting against inequality among students. He was a prefect at the time and had certain privileges but he sacrificed that for the right cause. Still wondering where his uncompromising stand against apartheid came from?

As we all mourn the great man who spent a bulk part of his youthful life in prison for the fight against apartheid we should learn a few lessons from him especially African leaders and Nigeria in particular.

Mandela overcame through forgiveness; he became the first ever black South African president and led the nation to a multi-racial democracy. Mandela didn’t fight for a particular tribe, colour or nationality; he fought for global freedom with his actions and sacrifices as depicted in his 1964 historic speech before he was imprisoned he said, “I’ve 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 needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Mandela didn’t look for a way to punish those who sent him to prison instead he devised a means to make the society function perfectly with everybody involved in the process.

He was branded a terrorist but after his release from prison in 1990 he never terrorised his former enemies, He reconciled South Africa and taught the world what it means to build a torn nation with different views and age long hatred from the scratch.

In his life time, the man who was known as the troublemaker never lost sight of his dream which was freedom for one is freedom for all. He fought, suffered and achieved his goals. But the amazing part of the story was that he never held on to office like most African leaders who sacrificed nothing for their country did. After his first term, he left office.

Mandela was humanity personified. Today world leaders are paying tribute to him and I wonder how African leaders who in their time in office milked their countries dry are feeling. Probably a motivational factor behind Obasanjo’s open letter to Goodluck Jonathan.

The Bible says, “A prophet is not respected in his own household” and this was the true case of African leaders and Mandela. They never learnt anything from the great man who put his people first before his personal interest.

Mandela wasn’t a perfect man with a perfect life, he had his own troubles and regrets but for what he believed in, he was ready to die.

I personally do not believe in the band wagon celebration of popular dead people, a recent trend especially on social networks. It looks like everyone just wants to be part of the party without knowing the stories behind the people’s successes or failures. I am not also against the use of their pictures too but my point is hope we didn’t get caught up by the bug and forget the lessons to be learnt?

Mandela taught us how to love even those we consider our enemies not minding their colour or tribes/language they speak.

We cannot all become the popular Mandela, but we can become the Mandela in our homes, communities, work place and country. We can be the Mandela in whatever capacity we find ourselves by standing for what is right no matter the cost.

Get detribalized. See everyone as part of a wonderful world because somehow we are all interconnected like the popular South African word ‘Ubuntu’ puts it.

Onyeka ‘Kerous’ Ibeanusi is a Nigerian musician, motivational/entertainment writer and speaker and a social commentator. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University Of Benin. You can follow him on twitter @onyeckerous or add him on facebook (Onyeka ‘Kerous’ Ibeanusi) or like his official page on facebook (Kerous)

52 thoughts on “Ubuntu (A Tribute To Nelson Mandela) By Onyeka Kerous Ibeanusi”

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