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Tag: Mandela

  • Mandela ressurects in Asaba, as South Africa marks 20th anniversary

    Mandela ressurects in Asaba, as South Africa marks 20th anniversary

    The South African Consulate in Nigeria marked last week 20 years of the country’s freedom and democracy and the Nelson Mandela International Day.

    In Asaba, the Delta State capital, a programme was held at the scenic Nelson Mandela Garden of 95 Trees in honour of the late freedom fighter.

    The Nelson Mandela Garden of 95 Trees was founded in 2013, a joint initiative of the Delta State government and a civil society organisation, Fight Against Desert Encroachment (F.A.D.E). It is a research, educational and recreational centre.

    South African Ambassador to Nigeria Mokgethi Monaisa, at a news conference, said the objective of the celebrations was “to identify with the nations and people that stood fast with South Africans, supporting them in their struggle for freedom”.

    He said Nigeria played an important role in the liberation of the majority of the South African people.

    Monaisa observed that the global Nelson Mandela International Day highlights the values and ideals that Mandela exemplified, adding that the consulate “has identified Delta State as one of our key friends with which we would like to share this moment.”

    His words: “Apartheid has been with us for centuries and we have been free from it and we redress the iniquities of the imbalances that were caused by the apartheid regime.  This cannot happen overnight, it becomes a process, but so far we have achieved a lot towards the dream  of Nelson Mandela and his peers who at the time early in our struggle, fought very hard to bring us to where we are.  Some of them have gone like he himself, but we are carrying on that beacon. If you go to SA today, it is definitely not the SA of 1994.We have addressed a lot of imbalances .

    “We have social programmes to bridge the gap between the haves and the have not. We have built a lot of schools for the people, we have social grants to take care of our aged ,the disabled, the needy, especially the abandoned children. We have built more hospitals in the country and electricity. You are aware that SA is highly industrialised and therefore generates power, but even then has built more power plants. Many homes, especially the homes of the previously disadvantaged are electrified. A lot of roads have been built especially to areas which used to be for blacks only. In the educational arena SA is now building three new universities in three provinces that did not have universities. Universities used to be concentrated in certain areas such as Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban. We did not have universities in Northern Cape, Umphumalaga .We are really living Mandela’s dream.”

    He said government has tackled crime in SA headlong, noting that the crime situation was perceptive rather than real.

    According to him, the media exaggerated the issue of crime in the run-up to2010 World Cup in South Africa.

    He said, “We demonstrated to the world that what they read in the newspaper and the perception they had was not true…the World Cup came and went with no major incident. People were so free that many decided to stay longer. Some of them came back to buy property in South Africa”.

    Delta Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Festus Okubor, described the late Mandela as an “icon”, adding the state is honoured to host part of the celebrations commemorating South Africa’s 20th anniversary  and Nelson Mandela Day.

    He said this honour by the South African consulate speaks volumes about the “concerted efforts of Delta State government under Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan to open up the State to the outside world”.

    The founder of F.A.D.E and renowned environmentalist, Mr. Jibunoh Newton, said he adopted Nelson Mandela as his mentor about 50 year ago. He said his NGO in conjunction with the state government in 2013 built the Nelson Mandela Garden of 95 trees to commemorate the life of sacrifice exemplified by Nelson Mandela.

    He said: “All the 95 trees are doing well and some have even started flowering.”

    The highpoint of the occasion was a visit by Monaisa and his entourage to Madonna School for Children with Needs, Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area. The group donated books, writing materials and Tee-shirts to the over 193 pupils of the school run by the Catholic Mission. Pupils were entertained with soft drinks in a ceremony which lasted over two hours.

  • Mandela and the Rainbow Nation

    n his effort to end the Apartheid regime in South Africa in the early 1990s, the late Nelson Mandela was admirably tough on his struggle to free his countrymen from the ruinous regime that turned them into slaves in their fatherland.

    In the end, South African gained free in politics but economically, the people still depended on their tormentors, who did not leave the country after the Apartheid regime crumbled.

    The South African economy remained the largest in Africa but the country has distinction as world’s most economically-skewed nation since 2009.

    This lopsidedness is not new. It grasped the attention of critics as far back as 1998 when the then Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki, stated before the parliament that South Africa was not a nation of a homogeneous people. He added that it was merely two nations rolled into one.

    To Mbeki, the country could be seen as a superficial society of “small” affluent white men whose lifestyles rivalled the super-rich anywhere in the world. The other people in South Africa, according to Mbeki, are black citizens who seemingly have a permanent date with poverty. Mbeki’s statement, which came to be known as “Two-Nations Speech”, is now regarded as a candid refutation of racial-economic harmony around the world.

    Besides, was Mbeki foretelling a racial confrontation by his speech? Did he have knowledge of impeding Marikana massacre of August 2012 when 34 striking miners were gunned down by police in broad daylight?

    In analysing South Africa’s economic inequality, social critics agree from the outset that colonialism and Apartheid had much to do with it. But in the post-apartheid era, a small undercurrent of thought emerged suggesting that the country’s socio-economic woes were aggravated and perpetuated by “compromised negotiations” that were spearheaded by the liberation icon, Nelson Mandela.

    After all, he was the beloved, the ultimate victim of apartheid struggle. Post-Mandela era, the ghost of the “compromised negotiation” hunts the country.

    Indeed, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah had addressed the same question of what domain should African anti-colonialism target first: politics or economy? Nkrumah responded in his capacity as the elder statesman in African nationalism, asserting: “Seek ye first the political kingdom and all things shall be added unto you.”

    During the negotiations to abolish Apartheid, was Mandela aware of Nkrumah’s political kingdom dictum? He would be forgiven if he was not aware. After all, he was already in prison when African nationalism became popular.

    In addition to his well-known photographic memory, Mandela was well read. Prof Ali Mazrui told how he was once in a conference and, accidentally, bumped into Mandela in the hallway. Startled, Mazrui greeted the global icon and introduced himself as Ali Mazrui. Mandela responded: “Oh, Professor Ali Mazrui, nice to meet you! I used to read your publications when I was in prison!”

    If Mandela remembered Mazrui’s name and he had read his publications while in prison, he certainly knew of the economic-political kingdoms debate prior to African decolonisation.

    Indeed Nkrumah’s dictum on this issue is one of his three most cited statements and Mazrui has published extensively on Nkrumah. In de-emphasising the economic front in the negotiations to abolish apartheid, was Mandela acting under the spell of Nkrumah?

    In all likelihood, Mandela was preoccupied less with ideologies than the practical circumstances that surrounded him. For the survival of his country, he had chosen to enlist the political kingdom first of reconciliation and nation-building.

    This attempt to build a Rainbow Nation was indeed the only viable alternative that was open to discussions. In this sense, Mandela was not alone. He was in the mould of Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, who also came out of a colonial jail and wrote a book clearly aimed at ‘coddling’ his former British detractors. Hence, the unsurprising title of his 1968 book: Suffering without bitterness.

    The mood of doom that hung over South Africa deteriorated immensely from the 1980s and was profoundly unattractive to foreign investor. International economic sanctions had become universal and were now biting deeply. Suddenly, these forces were boosted by the 1986 passage of the US Congressional Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act. The movement was also gaining momentum in the US and contributed further to Apartheid’s economic woes.

    Mandela did play his historical part in terminating political apartheid and bringing democracy to the South Africa peacefully. For that he won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. But the task of fusing socio-economic equality into the political kingdom turned out to be arduous undertaking.

    This year marks two decades of democracy in South Africa. Yet, the de facto economic apartheid remains intact. South African blacks remain pathetically poor. In 2009, South Africa surpassed Brazil as the most skewed society in the world.

    In Mbeki’s opinion, South Africa is yet to be a nation; it remains two nations in one. How to narrow the gap between the white and black, and how to construct genuine fundamentals of a Rainbow Nation eluded Mandela. Unlike Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Mandela’s South Africa is an incomplete revolution, a work in progress.

     

    Segun, 300-Level, Public Administration, LASU

     

  • Map on Mandela’s footsteps released

    A new map was released on Monday in Cape Town to help visitors to South Africa follow the footsteps of former President Nelson Mandela.

    The map, released in co-ordination with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, listed standard tourist destinations such as Robben Island, where Mandela was held as a prisoner, as an important site.

    NAN report says the map also has Mandela’s house in Soweto as one of the important sites.

    The map also features some less-known sites for tourists, such as the Kliptown Open Air Museum where delegates to the Congress of the People met to adopt the Freedom Charter.

    It has also Qunu, in the Eastern Cape, where Nelson Mandela spent many happy days as a child and where he is buried.

    The map also includes The Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre, which is a few hundred metres from the home Mandela built after his release from prison in 1990

     

  • Mandela’s $4.1m estate

    Mandela’s $4.1m estate

    Again, our politicians have another lesson to learn from this man who shaped the world

    If ever a man fought for his country, it was Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela; if ever a man lived for his country, it was Nelson Mandela; if ever a man dreamt for his country, it was Nelson Mandela; if ever a man brought fame to his country, it was Nelson Mandela; if ever a man died for his country, it was Nelson Mandela. If ever there was anything called struggle, Mandela personified that thing. Indeed, the struggle was his life. He was in and out of jail for his country; harassed and humiliated by the apartheid overlords. The highpoint of his sacrifice was his 28-year tenure in prison, which was characterised by the cruelty of Afrikaner guards, backbreaking labour, and sleeping in minuscule cells which were nearly uninhabitable.

    Yet, this great man that many other great men could not unlace his shoes did not amass the kind of mindboggling wealth that many politicians who have had the privilege of becoming president on the African continent are wont to amass. It is another plus for Nelson Mandela that when his will was read last Monday, all he could boast of was $4.13million (£2.53m) in estate, with a substantial part of this coming from royalties on his books.

    The estate includes an upmarket house in Johannesburg, a modest dwelling in his rural Eastern Cape home province and royalties from book sales, including his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, first published in 1995. Signed copies of this autobiography have been collectible for many years. Indeed, a signed Easton Press edition of it sold for $7,000 on AbeBooks.com. This deluxe edition was published in 2000. Another signed Easton Press edition of the title also sold for $6,475 immediately the great leader died. Millions of the book had been sold worldwide and this translates to a lot by way of royalties.

    Of course one should not be surprised that Mandela was probably not worth more than this; (probably because, according to Executor Justice Dikgang Moseneke who spoke at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, the 46m rand ($4.13million) estate was based on “rough and ready estimates” and the final amount could be very different.”We are yet to get down to the business of finding the asset, listing them and valuing them and accurately reflecting them. We have a duty to file a provisional inventory.”

    By African standards, this is a record low. African leaders are usually stupendously rich after a few years in government, without producing anything except poverty and squalor. Take Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasongo for example. Mbasongo, according to reports by the U.S Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations, personally siphoned as much as 700 million (USD) in state funds deposited at Riggs Bank in Washington D.C. We also have historic looters like Zairean dictator, Mobutu Sese Sekou and Nigerian Gen. Sani Abacha, both late, who funnelled billions of dollars into Swiss accounts before their demise. The only ‘commodity’ Abacha peddled was his military uniform.

    However, if all Mandela left was this modest estate (even if it could be slightly higher), it is understandable. Not for him the kind of ostentatious lifestyle that many of his colleagues on the continent are known for. And this is the irony; for, one would have expected a man who spent about 28 years in prison to want to make up for all he could not enjoy while in jail, be it in terms of wealth, wine or women. And no one could have denied him these because we all knew that he was imprisoned not for a personal cause but in the course of his struggle to free his people from apartheid. So, it would not be a bad idea for him to ask the South African taxpayer to foot the bill of such lascivious wassails.

    We would be ridiculing Mandela and South Africans generally if we say that Nigeria is yet to produce a man who could lay claim to having sacrificed 30 per cent of what Mandela sacrificed for South Africa, for Nigeria. Yet, we see all manner of characters making spurious claims concerning their contributions to the country’s development, whereas what they could, in all honesty, lay undisputed claim to is its underdevelopment. Standards have been falling in the past three decades, with things only getting worse by the day, leading to where we are today.

    In Nigeria, someone would enter government house barefooted or in bathroom slippers today and come out in golden shoes (that their salaries that we know can never buy) the next day. Many Nigerians will tell you that they do not have to spend eternity in power to hit their goldmine. They will ask for only six months and thereafter, their lives will never remain the same again. It is worse these days, when it seems, stealing has been liberalised and primitive accumulation pervades the land. People now steal without blinking an eyelid. Unlike in the Second Republic, those who steal now no longer steal in millions, they steal in billions. At the rate we are going, it is not unlikely that some people would hit (that is if they have not) the trillion naira mark of public funds that they have stolen or hope to steal.

    A typical ‘Nigerian Mandela’ would have insisted on life presidency after his release from prison. Mandela never did such a thing, despite his sacrifice for his country. As a matter of fact, after finishing his first term in office in 1999, there were pressures on him to seek a second. If he had wanted it, it would have been his with the snap of a finger. But Mandela refused to be led into that temptation; rather, he insisted on serving only one term. Some may say this should surprise no one because he was born into royalty; but many others in his shoes would have despised the revolution that he donated himself to for the easy life, after the prison experience. In Nigeria, people want to try third term even when the law says the maximum at a stretch is two.

    Mandela must have been led by the aphorism that it is good to leave the stage when the ovation is loudest. But in Nigeria, you find people who were unknown quantities before entering into politics wanting to stay put in power, even if they have to be carried on stretchers, with oxygen masks keeping them alive. I guess they won’t mind staying in office even after their demise; that is if ever death is in their reckoning!

  • Mandela’s example

    Mandela’s example

    His $4.1m estate is testament to his honesty and modesty; African leaders should emulate him

    His commitment to principle was unparalleled. His tenacity of purpose was unrivalled. His abiding faith in the cause of justice never flagged. He spent over 27 years of the prime of his life in solitary confinement, with hard labour, all in pursuit of the liberty and dignity of his people. Yet, he emerged from prison without bitterness, extending an olive branch of peace to his erstwhile oppressors and helping to lay a firm foundation for a peaceful multiracial South Africa. For these and more, the late Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a symbol of greatness in life. But it is turning out that even in death he is surpassingly great. His will revealed an estate valued at $4.1 million – approximately N600 million. This comprises of a house in Johannesburg, a home in his native Eastern Cape Province and royalties from his published books. This is clearly a rarity in Africa where many Heads of State have been known to be several times richer than their countries! Indeed, scarcely do African leaders reveal the value of their estates either in or out of office. Those are closely guarded state secrets. But in handling his will, Mandela has proven to be as transparent in death as he was in life.

    Some would contend that Mandela spent the best years of his life in prison and therefore did not have much opportunity to accumulate wealth. Such a view would be grossly misleading. For one, Mandela had been out of prison for 23 years before he died. Again, he was President of his country for five years, a period during which he could have amassed as much wealth as he wanted as is so common in Africa. Beyond this, he voluntarily vacated office after just one term, thus demonstrating that his purpose in office was to serve the people rather than feather his own nest. Even then, Mandela could have exploited his immense goodwill to acquire as much wealth as he wanted even after he left office. Mandela’s will, first written in 2004 and amended in 2008, indicates that he chose not to.

    The way Mandela authorised the execution of his estate was quite consistent with the life of fairness, justice and compassion he lived. Most of his estate will naturally go to his family from his three marriages. Although Mandela’s wife, Gracha Machel is entitled to half of the estate, the will allows her to waive this right and she has graciously done so. In his lifetime, Mandela granted each of his children a loan of $300,000. His will releases them from the loan. This reveals another side of his character as a parent who would not unnecessarily indulge his offspring in unearned affluence. It is interesting, as his lawyer revealed, that Mandela was meticulous about his will and tried to give a rational justification for every bequest he made.

    It is instructive that Mandela did not leave his close personal staff out of his will. His personal chef, Xoliswa Ndoyiya and long-time personal assistant, Zelda La Grange, were among his staff who received $4,500 each. According to one of them, “It gave me a shock of my life … I got shocked that he has remembered me, that he can give me something”. This speaks volume of the sheer compassion and humanity of the man. Mandela also left $9,000 for every school he attended, including two others in areas where he lived. Particularly touching was his inclusion of the University of Witwaterand among the beneficiaries of his will despite the fact that this was an institution that discriminated against him on racial grounds. According to the vice- chancellor of the university, Adam Habib, “He gave reasons why he wanted to give to educational institutions because he wanted people, disadvantaged throughout their lives to really be treated in a way as human beings”. Surely, this was an extraordinary human being.

    African and Nigerian leaders in particular certainly have much to learn from Mandela’s example. We have too many instances of leaders stealing their countries blind and greedily amassing wealth as if they have a limitless tenancy on planet earth. Some live under the illusion that they can stock up so much wealth for their generations yet unborn to enjoy. In doing so, they underdevelop their countries, impoverish majority of their people and create conditions of insecurity in which stolen wealth can hardly be enjoyed. Most African leaders thus never reveal the extent of their vast material acquisitions. They cannot afford to be as transparent as Mandela was in life and in death. The wealthy among us also have something to emulate in Mandela’s generosity of spirit, his largeness of heart and selflessness that made him look beyond his immediate family in dispensing the benefits of his will. Just as he did in life, Mandela in death stands on an unrivalled ethical pedestal.

  • Comment

    Comment

    For Olatunji Dare

     

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading “The Mandela Files”. Please give us a book on it. From Gbenga Demola-Ojo

    Please sir, I want a prompt reply however short it may be. Is it true that the Nigeria’s position against apartheid was one of the reasons Murtala Muhammed was killed? Anonymous

    Buhari, you are the Mandela of our time, save our nation, we love our country Nigeria, our country is greater than any of her citizen, do your best. Lord will support you with good health, long life and all you need to get there. Long live Buhari! Anonymous

    All these problems encountering in our ‘Great Country’ will not do us any good, especially our great and bright future. Anonymous

    Re: The Mandela files (3): Encounters. All the moments in your three series showed late Mandela to be unruffled not even when freedom plan was not in De Klerk’s plan, five years after the Eminent Persons Group as at 1990. Mandela is a troubadour-traverse taught us one thing ‘COURAGE’ in whatever hard, tough and or harsh circumstance(s) one finds oneself. May his soul rest in peace. From Lanre Oseni

     

    For Gbenga Omotoso

     

    Letter writing should not be the focus but the issues in the letters. Anonymous

    Take it or leave it, Obasanjo is a master, Jonathan has been floored. He will keep sprawling and staggering in confusion, making more mistakes. That punch sure hit target. From Henny, Awka

    Sir, corruption was more rife under Obasanjo than it is now. If you want me to text to you some corrupt practices under Obasanjo as reported by newspaper headlines, I will do so and you see that they are mind boggling. Some past news headlines reported: 1. EFCC begins probe of Obasanjo 2. Quiet probe of OBJ begins 3. Obasanjo spent 1.2 trillion naira excess crude oil money on power sector 4. OBJ’s rail project-35 billion dollars, 250 million dollars paid with nothing to show for it 5. Ajaokuta privatization scam, 5.6 billion dollars spent and it was sold at 500 million dollars, etc. Anonymous

    Dear Sir, a good leader ought to address very weighty and salient issues and allegations raised in the Obasanjo’s letter for the benefit of the nation. Anonymous

    Letters are the instruments of expressing one’s feelings. Our leaders who are writing letters are expresing their concern concerning the happenings in the country. The president should not take those letters as a fun rather he should take them as an opportunity re-ajust his stand. The president should consider the writer of any letter to him as his best friend not his enemy. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos

    Al Mustapha lacks all manner of military ethics to be inviting Gen. Obasanjo to a public debate. From Sqn Ldr Olufemi Francis, Marina, Lagos

    Mr President is talking and acting like a baby politician. I wonder how he became the President in the first instance! I blame all those pastors that turn their pulpit to political rally podium. Jonathan should stop dividing Nigeria in line of religion and tribe. Please tell him to listen to Obasanjo before it is too late.

    Thank you sir, I read this piece and I was a bit dissapointed in the President’s jibe at Obasanjo in a church before the people of God. Obasanjo should not reply him, we the electorate are watching and patiently waiting for him at the polls in 2015. APC will rule Nigeria. Anonymous

    The President is right, the country belongs to us not the greedy politcians like Obasanjo. Let Nigerians decide their future through the national confab. Anonymous

    Sir, your power of letters is an interesting piece, it is indeed a season of letter writing. All the bobajiro of jibitiland and ogbologbo of jandukuland will tremble on reading this article. I was reeling with laughter on reading the article. Keep it up. Happy Chrismas and prosperous new year in advance. Anonymous

    Your note Dec 26th refers: To say Obasanjo has his own flaws is to say the least; he is constantly displaying his crisis everywhere. However, all good thinking Nigerians are sure that ninety per cent of Obasanjo’s comments are obviously true of our beloved country’s leadership under Jonathan – corruption, ethnicism, greed, ineptitude, abuse, to mention a few of Jonathasn’s characteristics . The altercation between them is a reflection of our ‘leaders’. Anonymous

    The President’s comment on politicians at the cathedral church of the advent, Lifecamp, Abuja was very normal and in order because the President has all the constitutional right to make any comment in any place in his country. So it was not any fury. From Hon. Ubong

    Gbenga my brother, compliments. God bless you for making my day with your comment: The President’s fury. You reflected my exact mood as I listened to the President on NTA Network News last night. I felt relieved after reading the well crafted two paragraphs. Thank you. Regards! From Ayo Akinyemi

    This is season of letters revolution over leadership control. It is the beauty of democracy but let not feud truncate our democracy, let presidency and Obasanjo embrace peace in the interest of 160 million Nigerians. Where there is crisis in leadership, development is always set back. We believe all these letters should be an eye opener for Nigerians against the backdrop of where our leaders are taking Nigerians to. Well, time will tell. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia

    Let Jonathan stop the sermon, heed advice, respect elders, work on those tips, tackle corruption, remain focused on state challenges. Tell him to stop abusing his father’s age mate Obasanjo as any river that dares its origin will surely dry up. Let Baba too ‘Sidon De look and stop advising Almighty sitting President.’ Anonymous

    Jonathan is attacking political opponents in church to attract affection and sympathy of Christians as he did before and to escalate religious dishamony. He always plays divisive politics. From Adam Descky, Abia state

    I agree with President Jonathan that Nigeria does not belong to any politician he himself inclusive. He however left out one thing: politicians who think they own Nigeria ought not to do which is imposition of incompetent leaders on us particularly as Vice-Presidents for they may by goodluck become presidents. Anonymous

    All we expect from our President is to deliver on his mandate and see if we the masses will not vote for him irrespective of religion, ethnic or regional inclination. Afterall, poverty does not know zoning or progressive. From Mangs P., Jos

    I think the President is wiser than his teachers. He should keep it up. From Nnabuko, Suleja

    Re: The President’s fury. The church has been turned to platform to settle political issues, because church leaders are after money and appointment. From Osa Uwanomhen

    The President is neither whinning nor whimpering, but he is rather admonishing and advising as the true mature leader he is. We have not yet come to terms with the exceptional qualities of the President we currently have. History will vindicate him, and history will also indicate on which side of the Jonathan era we stood; whether as patriots or villains. Anonymous

    To describe Mr President Jonathan Goodluck as “whining and whimpering” is too much for any news paper to publish. Everybody, high and low should think and write responsibly. For a former head to be writing a letter to “his boy president” is infradignitata. The content of the letters from the “father and son” will nail the political coffin of the guilty. Truth is no respecter of persons. From Dele Oluwatade

    I was expecting such letter but not from the former President like Olusegun Obasanjo because he was “the kingmaker”. To the best of my knowlege all the allegations written in that letter were true picture of what is going on in the country. The President’s reply did not exonerate him unless he allows all concerned security agencies to conduct details investigation and make their “finding” public. Look at what is going on in the ruling party now you will come to the conclusion that he is the cause; he could not manage human being. My appeal to eligible voters in year 2015 is to vote wisely. From, Prince O.Y.O. Ayodele, Social Commentator, Akure, Ondo State

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    A church that ought to be an hospital for sinners has now become a museum for the saint. Anonymous

    Tunji, Baba o! Your “The President’s pets” was the only soothing relief to end the year. E see sir (thank you). From Akpan, Calabar.

    Sir, your comment is another wonderful satire if I am right. You always make my Sundays enjoyable. May God bless your mind and hand to continue to enlighten us the more. Happy New Year in advance. Anonymous.

    For our government to propose N34m for feeding animals only in 2014 is a clear indication that our leaders don’t have regard for the citizens. Anonymous.

    I have read “the President’s pets” (Nation December 29). Totally trite. Anonymous.

    Tunji, I was going to church when I stopped to flip through the papers just to see your humorous, creatively crafted write-up. I laughed till I didn’t go to church again. Anonymous.

    It is sheer waste of resources to feed animals with tax-payers money when there is necessity for money to invest in meaningful projects that could create jobs and change the lives of citizens for good. It is very unfortunate and unacceptable venture. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

    It is really unfortunate that the president is being attacked from all fronts, particularly by a few Yoruba renegade, Hausa Fulani stock despite the fact that this president has come to navigate or tread a path never navigated by any past president. Not even the one who … his tribesman, a sitting minister just because he wanted to be a regional leader. And this myopic Tunji is talking about money budgeted for two animals in Aso rock Villa. You wait for it; we will tell what is spent now by purported progressive governors on reptiles in their states. Anonymous.

    Nigerians should not be bothered about the activities of the president because, to him, opportunity comes but once. So, his idea is, let me use it as I want. He has forgotten if he does not use the opportunity wisely, the opportunity will dump him for a better opportunist. The president now values beasts more than humans. He should cast his mind back to when he had no shoes. History is on the side of the oppressed. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos.

    Tunji, what other evidence do you need to believe that those ruling this country are (?) Nigerians are in for some testy times. Lord have mercy! From Simon O.

    Tunji, I just re-read your October 27 article titled “Cars Stella may still ride”. Events have proved you right. Kudos. Merry Christmas and happy 2014. From Valentine Ojo, Maitama, Abuja.

  • Ikuforiji advises youths

    Ikuforiji advises youths

    LAGOS State House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has urged youths to participate in partisan politics to become effective agents of change.

    Ikuforiji gave the advice at the 2013 end-of-year dinner organised by World Changers International (WCI), a youth-based non-governmental organisation, at Ikeja, the state capital.

    He said: “Leaders that left indelible marks on the sands of time charted their life-changing course in their youthful days. It got them no applause at the time because the courses were not designed to please the gallery.

    “Obama’s audacity of hope was a youthful imagination; Gandhi’s propagation of peaceful protest was nurtured in his youthful days; Mandela’s anti-apartheid stance was a youthful zeal; the Ruler of the United Arab Emirates had a vision in his youth, and Dubai was created from nothing. They all have two things in common: they had the quest for positive change; they also took full advantage of the opportunity to make a change.”

    The Speaker said it would be shameful for youths to sit on the fence in the election of Nigeria’s political leadership in 2015, stating that “currently, the youth have surrendered the bulk of our political space to the dishonourable, the incompetent and worse, to the criminally-minded.”

    The group’s president, Mr Tim Ayoola Abiodun, who lamented the non-involvement of youths in key decision-making organs in the country, noted that the programme was organised to provide a platform for youths to interact with political and business leaders.

    “WCI is an organisation with passion for youth empowerment and development. We have a lot to learn from our leaders to be more active economically, socially and politically,” Abiodun stated.

  • Comments

    Comments

    For Dare Olatunji

    There can be false and crooked ways to achieve right goals. The virtue of prudence implies that both the end of human action and the means for its realization be in keeping with the truth of things. The lesson in “Redeeming Bode George” is that what was immorality a decade ago may not be immorality today. But is truth still constant? From Adegoke O O, Ikhin, Edo State.

    So confused and frustated is OBJ after instigating the so-called rebel G-7 governors on the futile bid to destablise PDP. He failed woefully and thousands of OBJ can’t stop GEJ’s second term bid; let it be drummed into the ears of OBJ. From Eugene, Enugu.

    Great piece. A damning CIA Report was responsible for the treason trial that sent Mandela to life imprisonment in the first place. Anonymous

    Re-The Mandela files-2. Mandela in America. Despite accusations against late Mandela, he remained and remains a hero worldwide. Which freedom did anyone or a community win with peace? Blood had always been let! Even the slavery of triangular era from Africa to India to Europe and America. Did they not shed our forefathers’ blood? MANDELA lives forever for South African Blacks. May his soul rest in peace, Amen. From Lanre Oseni.

    Dare, the issue of Mandela being member of a communist club at the time he was fighting for independence of South Africa might be true though your piece confirmed Madiba denied it a few times he was asked about membership of the group. A look back at those times reveals two contending international political groups, the Democrats predominantly Western world in membership, and the Communists led by Russia. Since Apatheid in South Africa was a British colonial weapon of suppression, backed majorly by Western countries, some freedom fighters like Mandela might be tempted to join the communist club, the opposition to Western political group, to shore up support for their struggle; a likely human tendency in such a circumstance. But if Mandela denied being a member of such a body, then his word should be taken for it, with suspicion from a few doubting Thomases, based on his clout. From LAI ASHADELE.

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

    Naturally, character moulding should start from the family but the family lives in a community or society. In a badly divided society, given the gap between the rich and the poor, we cannot run away from the fact that prudence in the Machiavellian sense is what appeals to the average man. How do we harmonize the internal sense of what is good and bad with some of the external factors that make survival the basic law everywhere? If the society is unjust, can the individual be just? The dillemma is that you cannot change society if you don’t change man. From Adegoke O O, Ikhin, Edo State.

    There isn’t anything special in the OBJ’s letter. Its simply vintage Obasanjo. During his regime, a minister could even sell the whole nation with Obasanjo lookin the other way so long such minister continued to do his bidding. But disagree with him, then you can be sure he would send EFCC to you as though he never knew you were corrupt. Then the undiscerning Nigerians would hail him for fighting coruption, whereas he knew exactly what he was doing. To me, the remark Jonathan made in praise of Mandela together with his refusal to be dictated to by OBJ are the two major reasons for that letter. Such letter, we know, couldn’t have been written in the first place, had Jonathan allowed him to continue ruling the country by proxy, even if his administration was to be worse than what it is presently.That’s the angle we should look at the Obasanjo’s letter to understand exactly where he is actualy coming from, the weighty content of the letter notwithstanding. From Emmanuel Egwu

     

    For Gbenga Omotoso

    It is good that Obasanjo made the letter public himself. Is he not the man that foisted on Nigerians the lethargic Yar’Adua and Jonathan through a sham election? Do not expect an illegal government to tackle corruption, provide light, fight unemployment, guarantee security, ensure infrastructural development. Now Obasanjo wants to bring either Lamido or Babangida Aliyu in 2015 and that is why these two have not defected to APC. More troubles ahead for PDP as Obasanjo is now set to enlist more foot soldiers against a corrupt, rudderless and visionless government of Jonathan who has refused to do his bidding. From Samuel B/C

    Why are you people from some section of the country writing against Jonathan? Is it because he is not the member of APC? Please I want you to write about the leaders of APC because they too have their own shortcomings. Your views may not be the views of Nigeria. Anonymous

    There are two leaders worthy of immitating in Nigeria for their honesty, transparency and concern. President Obasanjo and Govenor Muazu Babangida Aliyu. The ball has been set rolling; it is left for our president, emirs and the National Assembly to take action before the wind of change catch up with us……From Mallam. S. Doma.

    Obasanjo vs Jonathan: Obasanjo should leave Jonathan alone. If he can’t advise him, he should stop heating the polity. During his tenure, has he forgotten what he did in Odi, in Bayelsa and in other places? We are celebrating Mandela today. Mandela had the chance to do more than two tenures, but did one and said ‘No‘ to tenure elongation. He should keep quiet if he can’t give useful advice to him. Akeju Emmanuel, Benin-city.

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    Re: Nigeria’s many managers. It is not all the time that ASUU is right in its obduracy. The manner it was going, it might overtake our NLC. Why? The government respects the teachers too much. And respect should beget respect. There was no way N1.6trn could be dropped at a go as ASUU wanted initially. ASUU wanted to be paid the five months of ‘workless’ period! And is that what the students are being taught; that they could be paid without working? To me, if they are eventually paid such, it is fraud! My economics mentioned productivity and not redundancy. I suggested to a professor friend, ‘Go on phased payments, which resolved the hitch eventually. In a deadlock like that, what did our traditional rulers do? And past heads of state, in concrete terms? However, all said and done, two of the arms of government – legislature and the executive- need to cut sizeably their pay and expenses borne by the government. If done, there is enough to fund our tertiary institutions. From Lanre Oseni.

    May God replenish you for nourishing my soul over the year with your insightful and intellectual articles. Thank you so much , Tunji. From Dennis Tuedor, Ughelli, Delta State.

    I agree with you that many people are not asking for their right. The problem is that the oppressed lack class consciousness in a class society. That is why they have decided to wait for divine intervention. Yes, it is another name for fatalism. From Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna.

    In regard to columns 1 and 3 of your ‘Nigeria’s many managers’, may I note that your in-house man, Wordsworth, says the phrase Is simply ‘white elephant(s) and the dictionary says so. And you may also wish to confirm the difference between bother and border (on). Anonymous

    Chief Wike was behind the prolonged ASUU strike because he left his responsibility as supervising minister of education to join issues with Governor Amaechi over his (Wike’s) governorship ambition when he should be thinking of solution to the ASUU strike. President Jonathan should fire Wike now to save the education sector as well as allow him concentrate on his ambition. No one should take Nigerians for granted. From Gordon Chika Nnorom.

  • The Mandela files (3): Encounters

    The Mandela files (3): Encounters

    Of the four encounters I was privileged to have with Nelson Mandela, the second was the most revelatory.

    Many of his defining attributes that the entire world has been remarking and celebrating since his death three weeks shone through splendidly in that encounter – his graciousness, the deep emotional reserve he guarded tenaciously the way he must have guarded his face in the boxing ring, and his resoluteness..

    But first, some background.

    General Olusegun Obasanjo had served as co-chair of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group that had recommended economic sanctions and other measures that, together with the altered international environment – glasnost, perestroika, and all that – and the black insurrection in South Africa, moved the ruling regime to abandon petty apartheid and to begin seriously to contemplate a future without that pernicious doctrine.

    During the EPG mission, in 1986, he had struck a relationship with Nelson Mandela, then languishing in prison. He had strengthened the relationship when he hosted Mandela and his wife Winnie to a rousing reception at his farm in Otta when they visited Nigeria in May 1990. Some three months later, Obasanjo was headed for South Africa, on a mission “to listen, learn and encourage” the transition then slowly unfolding.

    I had asked to company him on the trip to get the kind of access that an earlier visit did not provide. Also on the trip were his friend and confidant, the engineer and industrialist Obafemi Olopade, Dr Yusuf Maiangwa, since deceased, director of the Africa Leadership Forum, and former Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada, on leave from Ahmadu Bello University, where he was a professor of French, and two security aides.

    The visit could not have started on a less promising note.

    Within an hour of our landing at Jan Smuts International Airport in Johannesburg, on July 25, 1990, well before General Obasanjo could brief Nelson Mandela and the ANC leadership of his mission, state radio had broadcast the news. Something told me that Mandela would at the very least regard this as a misstep, and would not take kindly to it.

    Early on July 26, 1990, the first full day of our visit, official state radio announced that a plot by the South African Communist Party and some elements of the African National Congress to overthrow the government by force had been uncovered. Specifically, it reported that Mac Maharaj, a member of the ANC National Executive, had been arrested in the investigation of the plot.

    To underscore the gravity of the situation, the government had detailed its intelligence chief, the intense and precise Dr Neil Barnard, to brief Obasanjo and his team on their arrival in Pretoria to meet with senior government officials.

    Barnard and other spokespersons were careful to point out that Mandela was not personally involved in the plot, which they characterised as a “betrayal of trust” that could undermine the peace process “before any significant milestone” was reached and, perhaps more ominously, “threaten the fragile peace in the sub-region.”

    As a condition for restoring trust, they demanded that Maharaj and Joe Slovo, leader of the SACP, be dropped from the ANC’s negotiating team.

    This was the unpromising backdrop to our meeting with Mandela at the ANC’s headquarters in downtown Johannesburg later that day – a day on which state radio announced repeatedly and to the ANC’s consternation, that Obasanjo had arrived to listen, learn and encourage.

    We were ushered into Mandela’s cluttered office as senior members of the ANC were dispersing after concluding a strategy meeting at which they issued a defiant rebuttal to the government ‘s claim that the SACP and ANC were plotting to overthrow it

    Preliminaries were less strained than I had expected. Half-way through, a young woman with a battery of cameras entered the room, and as she tip-toed round the conference table to go into an adjoining room, Mandela accosted her.

    “Mandissa, where have you been?” he said. “I haven’t seen you in quite a while.”

    The young woman, a photographer for the ANC, replied that she had been away on an official assignment.

    “I wanted to give you a copy of my new book,” he said. Grabbing a copy of No Easy Walk to Freedom from a desk, he autographed it and handed it to her.

    That was the essential Mandela, the person who always looked out for those who did the grunt work but on whom the klieg lights rarely shone and who never made the headlines and the front pages.

    Then, Mandela turned to Obasanjo and asked him to introduce his team. At the mention of Olopade’s first name, Obafemi, Mandela instantly made a connection with the more famous bearer of that name, Chief Awolowo, who had died some three years earlier. Twenty-seven years in prison, without access to the news media, had not dulled his memory.

    Mandela would debrief Obasanjo and his team several hours later in the house that Winnie built, in the West Orlando neighbourhood of Soweto, while he was in prison – an elegant affair but by no means the most elegant there, and far from opulent.

    “Whom have you been talking with?” he began, notepad before him and pen in hand.

    As Obasanjo told him about what had transpired in our earlier appointments, you saw Mandela the patient listener, the meticulous note-taker and the skilled interrogator all rolled into one.

    When we met him in the Cabinet Room in the Union Buildings in Pretoria — he had jokingly remarked that I was sitting in the chair usually occupied by the Defence Minister, General Magnus Malan — I had asked President Frederik de Klerk to sketch a time frame for the transition.

    Pulling out my notebook, I relayed his response to Mandela.

    “Difficult,” de Klerk had said. That year -1990 – and the next would be crucial and dynamic. “Certainly, no new election would be held under the present (apartheid) constitution. We are in a hurry. We are not playing games. We are not looking at ten or even five years from now . . .”

    “No new election will be held under the present constitution?” Mandela repeated slowly and deliberately.

    “Exactly what he said, sir,” I replied, looking toward Obasanjo for confirmation.

    Obasanjo confirmed that I had correctly reported de Klerk.

    All this was news to Mandela. He had never been told that much by de Klerk, who kept his cards fairly close to his chest, and may indeed have used our visit to telegraph to Mandela and the ANC that he was s person with whom they could do serious business.

    If Mandela was in the least excited by this development that had the markings of a game-changer in South Africa’s tortuous history, he did not show it. The deep, emotional reserve that had been his armour had supervened.

    But the fighter in Mandela broke through the emotional dam when Obasanjo informed him that, because South African Airways was grounded by a strike, he had offered the leader of the rival, hard-line Pan Africanist Congress, Zeph Mothopeng, a ride to Lagos the following day on the Falcon 600 executive jet that military president Ibrahim Babangida had provided for our trip.

    “Ólù,” he said, looking Obasanjo in the face and wagging the index finger of his right hand, “don’t have anything to do with that chap. If you do, you will lose all your friends here in South Africa.”

    He was firm, resolute. He expected no buts and no ifs, and he got none.

    General Obasanjo would call later to tell Mothopeng that his travel plans had changed, as indeed they had. He would not be flying to Lagos the next day after all. Instead, he would fly to Ulundi, in KwaZulu-Natal, for a meeting with the leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who was seething with resentment that he had been marginalised in the on-going negotiations.

    From there, he would proceed to the Zambian capital Lusaka to brief President Kenneth Kaunda, chair of the Frontline States, on his mission, and the team would spend the night there as Kaunda’s guests.

     

    *Third and final installment of a retrospective on Nelson Mandela. Some of the material here first appeared in my reporting for The Guardian Sunday Magazine (August 5, 1990), titled “Tracking Apartheid’s Changing Face”.

     

     

  • 5 things Mandela taught me

    5 things Mandela taught me

    During my first year in school, I wanted to be heard, make impact, and with the speaking gifts I had, I thought it would be an easy task. My first public speaking competition opened my eyes to many weaknesses. I was not only ridiculously shy; I began to stammer once I was asked to speak in front of a large crowd.

    My dream of making an impact in my school slowly but persistently began to shatter. But another opportunity came during a speaking competition again and I decided to test myself once more – with the help of my teachers who motivated me and I began to speak. I remember a time when one of my teachers gave a speech, he adopted a quote from Nelson Mandela and Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear” – I loved the quote so much that I went ahead to search it out. I found many other wonderful quotes from Mandela which opened me up to a world of new found bravery and victory over my fear for the competition.

    Mandela taught me with the wonderful quotes from his book, “Long Walk to Freedom”. Below are some of these quotes:

    • He taught me to fight my fears

    He said, “I’ve learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not the man who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

    I would not say after reading this quote I stopped being afraid, I just learned to fight it. Fear is natural, what makes me brave is that I learned to fight it.

    • He taught me never to give up

    “There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”

    I learned not to give up. There’s always light at the end of every tunnel; yes I may feel different sometime, even many times, I just learnt never to act different or defeated. I am not quitter.

    • He taught me that leading often does not involve being seen

    “A leader… is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”

    I’ve always wanted to lead, to be seen, to be heard; but I chased this wrong away. Seeing this quote made me realize that leading doesn’t often involve being seen. It most times involves action. I learnt to let my actions speak for me.

    • He taught  me never to expect the same results from my past

    “I could not imagine that the future I was walking toward could compare in any way to the past that I was leaving behind”

    Mandela made me realize that to get to the future I dream of, I have to let go of the present I currently live in and walk towards my future making it my present and my past. He also made me understand that the future is the future when I start getting different and better results

    • Above all, he taught  me to love

    “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than it’s opposite.”

    He thought me to love, and with that love I can fight for what I want and believe. He thought me that if I loved something so much I would fight for it.

    He said,“I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me anger, rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.”