MY TRIBUTE TO NELSON MANDELA (II)

MY TRIBUTE TO NELSON MANDELA (II)

I thought the tears in my eyes have dried. I thought the rain of pebbles will never fall again. I thought death has granted some respite to the wise man on whose words and actions the generations walk. I thought death has pull back its icy hands from him until at least after our centenary birthday. But I woke up at dawn and realised my eyes were oozing with tears, my pillow soaked in tears, not tears of joy, but tears of sorrow. Nightmare again? No. My wife whispered into my ears "the hero and the great African leader has fallen".

From birth, you were given the name Rolihlahla, a Xhosa term loosely translated as 'pulling the branch of a tree' or euphemism for a "troublemaker". You joined the ANC in 1944 as a young anti-apartheid revolutionist, which was later declared as a terrorist organisation and was banned from operation but that never dampened your spirit to wage the crusade against the apartheid. You were born as a leader and you ended up as a hero.

'Umkhonto we Sizwe' translated as "Spear of the Nation" was the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) which you co-founded and fought against the South African government. You were destined to liberate the people of South Africa (blacks) from the hands of the wicked white man. You are revered and respected all over the world as one of the few greatest African leaders who ever lived. You fought a life battle against oppression and injustice and served ONLY one term as president of South Africa, you emerged without stealing your country’s money into foreign accounts to developing the west. Africa needs leaders like you to build the continent and make it a better place to be.

You went through so many challenges; from exile to imprisonment, but you never succumbed even at the glare of the gun. You were prepared to sacrifice your life to liberate the 'black man' from the hands of the oppressors. As a renowned lawyer, you were banned from active practice and treated like a lost orphan in the wilderness, you were repeatedly arrested on false charges, tortured and imprisoned but again that never quenched your burning spirit to fight for freedom. You were banned from public appearances, from belonging to any organisation and attending meeting and delivering speeches but as a smart thinker you always had your way out; You walked in incognito and barefooted, organising secret meetings and awakening the spirit of the youth to stand up for their rights. You were a true patriotic and incorruptible African leader.

You saved the future of South Africans from impending doom when the 'Bantu Education' was introduced by the whites to give inferior education to the 'blacks'. You quickly came out with the "m plan" and used every household as an educational center and taught Africans the right education. You made the whole world to understand that Africans are not inferior before the Europeans and that we (African) must resist their supremacy and racial discrimination.

"Father of the nation", "Black pimpernel", as you were affectionately called, you have left a huge vacuum that will be difficult to replace by any of our current leaders. Our eyes are moving around the continent searching for that leader who is nearest in meaning to your calibre. But until we spot that person, we shall continue to wail in sorrow. Like great writers, great leaders are not buried in tombs, they are buried in libraries. We shall visit there and read your legacies. Rest in peace, father of Africa.