When the demise of Nelson Mandela was proclaimed to the nation by South African president Jacob Zuma, the streets were hushed and in restaurants, bars and nightclubs, there was pin drop silence as people listened in utter despondency.ANC described him as a large baobab tree that had fallen, whose roots would nourish the soil forever.
Mandela was one of the founding fathers of the South African struggle against apartheid, who dedicated his life to emancipating his people from political bondage. He led them during the darkest days of apartheid; always resolute and standing tall for his principles.
He was the embodiment of the struggle against racist dictatorship and apartheid brutality, a constant inspiration to his people from the days of the Congress of the People, the armed resistance, the dark days in prison, right up to the negotiations and the freedom.
His passing thus triggered unprecedented tributes and outpouring of grief not only in South Africa but throughout the world. The corporate media on its part was awash with tributes, falling over each other in showering flowery accolades on him.
They generously bestowed upon him abundant praise, describing him as an illustrious grand man, “conscience of his nation and the world at large, celebrated for his magnanimity, moral courage, and dignity; for his resilience, patience, and passion; distinguished for his charisma, charm, noble countenance and common touch; for his humility, visionary and political lustre; and most of all, for his spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation”.
Mandela’s memorial ceremony was likewise marked by the presence of world celebrities, personalities and super stars. Everyone who was someone jostled his/her way to South Africa. They described him as one of history’s last great statesmen, the embodiment of global moral authority, of humanity, “comparable to the twentieth century saintly paragons such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King”.
They portrayed him as a disciple of pacifism, an embodiment of Mother Teresa and devotee of neo-liberal legality, obscuring the fact that after the Sharpeville massacre in the sixties, the African National Congress (ANC) adopted a strategy of armed struggle. The gap between rhetoric and reality was demonstrably clear.
Among the “mourners” was US President Obama who brought along his four predecessors. He “led the world” in paying homage to his “personal hero” while back home the United States flags were flown at half mast.
In showering tributes to Mandela, Obama was a masterpiece of self-glorification: “While I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be better. He speaks to what is best inside us . . . we can change. We can choose to live in a world defined not by our differences, but by our common hopes … a world defined not by conflict, but by peace and justice”.
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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial policy.