Weep Not For Mandela,By Ali M Ali

I grew up thinking that Nelson Mandela and the monarch of my emirate, will live forever. For some odd reason, I believed that Mandela and my Monarch were both super human not giving to the frailties of mortals. I remember, as a child barely a teenager, struggling to have a glimpse of the extra-ordinary one,the highly venerated emir, every festive period especially the two eids (Sallah) celebrations. As impressionable teenagers, we held the emir in awe. He is revered. He is alive and 50 years on the throne. But the years have taken their toll on the grand old man, the same way they did Mandela. Unlike my monarch, Mandela spent 27 terrible years in jail for political reasons.
On three separate occasions, he was offered a conditional release. On all three occasions, he turned them down. His disposition as a prisoner was such that his jailors felt more imprisoned than him
Exactly a week today, the cruel hands of death, that reckless intruder in the affairs of men and beasts, coldly took away his life. Weep not for him.It was sunset for Africa’s finest of this century. Except for the 18th century reformer, Shehu Othman Ibn Fodio, I doubt very much if there was a single African that has had this much impact on the continent and beyond like the late anti-apartheid icon.
Were it a strictly human decision, Mandela will go straight to heaven. This is doubtless. Varied account of his earthly life and life style suggest heavenly abode as his rightful destination. Here was a man who, according to apartheid President, FW de Klerk, ‘‘lacked bitterness in him’’.
By forgiving his tormentors and jailers, Mandela grew phenomenally as to be the most [powerful moral force to save his country from a fratricidal racial war. By refusing to serve a second term, he showed the world not all Africa’s leaders are bitten by the sit tight virus.
On earth, no departed leader, not even the Pope, had attracted 90 world leaders, countless envoys and hundreds of thousands of South Africans to his memorial. Millions watched live television as leader after leader relive their encounter with the man singly credited with redefining and changing the course of South African history.
Before he breathed his last, the ailing statesman had grimly fought a losing battle with degenerating ailment. Twice he resisted the call. This time he answered it. The call all mortals are waiting to answer. His passage didn’t come as a surprise. At 95,his death couldn’t have been “untimely”. His was a life well spent. In Nigeria’s deadly shortened life span of 45 years, Madiba nearly lived two life times.
The joke in most newsrooms and social media is that, if the dagger and cloak politics of Nigeria doesn’t kill a citizen, any of the following could-plane crashing into residential buildings, bombs exploding in walkways or stray bullets from criminals and gun totting soldiers. It is that bad.
Expectedly there has been an outpouring of grief worldwide. In the tragi comedy department, Nigerian leaders can’t be outdone. First to make a mockery of himself was former President Obasanjo.
Mandela and Obasanjo have a somewhat similar history of being in prison and being president. That is where the similarity ends. Mandela was forgiving. Obasanjo is vindictive. Madiba was a statesman. Baba Iyabo is desperate politician of the ‘do-or-die’ hue. Where Mandela preached forgiveness, Obasanjo pursued vendetta. He is exactly what Mandela was not. Where Mandela won hearts by his sheer sincerity, Obasanjo arm-twisted using the instrumentality of state apparatus. Mandela was straightforward, Obasanjo is guile and foxy.
Mandela spent 27 years in jail. He emerged a humanist with only one agenda-to heal his country. Obasanjo spent three short years in prison and emerged a viciously vindictive, unforgiving, conceited leader with multiple agenda. It was only a person with an ego the size of Zuma rock like Obasanjo who will tell his advisers to their faces that he was not duty bound to heed their counsel. Why then waste state funds on them? Sheer malice? One of Obasanjo agenda was to exact maximum revenge on his jailers. The other was to perpetuate himself in office. While Mandela was uniting South Africa as a multi racial and multi cultural state, Obasanjo was stoking the fires of disunity among the citizenry.
President Jonathan too, didn’t disappoint. Mandela abiding faith in education as the most powerful tool in changing the world is not in doubt. Jonathan’s contempt for it is all too obvious. For nearly six months, universities have remained shut by striking lecturers reneging on an agreement previously reached. Mandela, son of a monarch, lived and died modestly not dipping his hands in the public till; Jonathan is presiding over a bandit regime. The amount of theft in his government is unprecedented. Corruption is a by word closely associated with this government. Three days ago the Speaker of the House of Representatives confirmed what all informed Nigerians know that the presidency under Jonathan fuels corruption. He gave instances among which was the illegal purchase of armoured vehicles by Stellar Oduah, the Aviation minister.
This week the CBN raised alarm that nearly $50 billion crude oil sales have been stolen. Just yesterday Obasanjo, despite his scandalous record and double standards as president, described Jonathan as desperado lacking honor and integrity yet he was shedding crocodile tears over the passage of Mandela.
Mandela is gone. He has been one of the three greatest men of the past one hundred years. Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X and Mandela all changed their and our world through the advocacy of higher human dignity and equality. Truly weep not for Mandela, weep for Nigeria.