What do we as Africans really owe Nelson Mandela? How is he different from the rest of the African leaders who have come and gone, or are still there? An interesting exchange took place on my friends facebook page and I decided to let ya'll know. Some of the names maybe unfamiliar to some of you and some of it is in our mother tongue Shona, but it is worthy a conversation to follow.
PROMPT
Dominic Tsabora Mhiripiri(Friend) thinks that with all due respect, Nelson Mandela is the most over rated man in recorded history. It’s hard to find something that he DID. And now everyone has to celebrate a global 'Mandela Day' every year. Media hype gone too far!
RESPONSES
Guess Obama is going that way too. "Obama say moms should go back to school, Obama says this.... all those ads! leaves you with Who is this Obama! Nobel prize Mandela I guess its all about reconciliation and stepping down soon after 27 years in jail you would naturally expect vengeance and staying in office forever.
Mandela did as much as the next guy for this country but what makes him great is what he represents and how he was able make himself heard. He has the 'x' factor and chinotimba doesn’t but go figure they did just about the same thing. The guy whether justified or not represents hope and possibilities. A typical victory for the underdog type of story. The system here needed someone for that position had it not been him it would had been the next guy
I have also questioned that myself: Is the ideal African leader one who focuses on the future and overlooks the injustices done in the past and doesn't upset the White status-quo? Is that true statesmanship?...Mugabe went away with Gukurahundi yet was still regarded a true African Statesman until the Land thing...
If Mandela did all the million good deeds that make him adorable and amazing but put the racist apartheid minority pests where they belonged, in jail or out of South Africa the western led World Media could have rated him like Robert Mugabe. It is important to note that until 2008, he and his ANC were terrorists in the USA. A British Prime Minister... See More once boldly called him by the same title 'A terrorist'... did time change a devil into a saint? Indeed, they kept the label 'terrorist' well until Mandela had retired and is on his way to the grave.. that is when they lifted that deplorable image of him..... when they were sure Madiba was out of power and he is not what their states are in race relations. It could be interesting to know how many of those leading media houses or their governments condemned Apartheid South Africa's policies in the period Madiba was locked away. Only Africans know why Mandela is great or not very great, all the same others are welcome to celebrate his greatness.'
Viva Madiba Viva........
Africans must read their history their way!
Epic viewpoints right there, gentlemen.. I guess I understand and appreciate Mandela's importance as a symbol.. of, maybe, freedom/triumph/reconciliation etc.. and I approve of the way that he has handled his influence to advance good causes around the world.. but my case precedes all that.. a good portion of the praise and frenzy that surrounds ... See More him is totally undeserved, driven by (viral) media worshipping and our African hunger for a super-hero of our own. Mandela simply got jailed like any other revolutionary [including Mugabe], served a largely uneventful five year term and retired into the bliss of a global cult that already awaited him.
What I want is for Africans to teach their children the whole story of men - for what they did and not for what the world makes them to be [see Mauya above]. I want us to also tell the stories of the unsung heroes - Walter Sisulu, Steve Biko, Oliver Tambo, Joshua Nkomo - and not blindly follow a cause until we fully understand it..
In which case, still, Mandela remains a big hero, but not a god.
yeah I second you on this one. I had dinner with a guy that knew him personally back in the day, before he got arrested and he was saying the same exact words.
c'mon! the man is an icon. his inspiration as an activist, behind bars, and his key role during the transition from apartheid to multiracial SA was crucial for peace. Sounds like Mugabe, had he retired in the early 90s. And don't just say 'Joshua Nkomo' because he's dead and we're stuck with Mugabe, they were both in the same boat!
But if Obama could get a nobel peace prize, give Madiba a break. (although both may be overrated)
So, what should Africans teach their children about Mugabe?
What is also troubling is that Mandela, unlike any other African leader, is perfectly "loved" by all white communities in SA and abroad - who elevated him through the media to quasi-divine levels.. the same white people who love him were enriched by apartheid and want a black figure who can shield them and "foster" unity.. he deserves plaudits for espousing reconciliation during the transition, but beyond that, nothing much justifies his worship.
certainly not jail because Mr. Sisulu was at the same jail for the same number of yrs as Mandela. Clyde, Dr Joshua Nqabuko Nkomo deserves the 'unsung hero' tag because he joined hands with a man who murdered 20,000 of his people for the sake of peace.. He started nationalist politics when Mugabe was still in elementary school, and suffered great ... See More sacrifices for Zimbabwe. His only crime was to belong to the "wrong" tribe, otherwise he should have been at least PRESIDENT of Zima at some point. If he were in 'the same boat' as Bob, why did we prosper in the 90s, and started falling the very minute he died in '99?
about an hour ago.
media influences perception and that applies in this instance whether or not the hype around him is justified from a results based point of view we can debate that having said that as a leader of any organisation you become the face of its success or failure if ANC was 't as popular as it became the last we would have heard of the man behind the name... See More would have been right about when they took him in politics is more than what meets the eye honestly believe they dangled a carrot for the guy and he was given rules of engagement...they knew that the Africans sooner or later where taking over and if they won the war they would dictate terms true or not I think the point remains that what Mandela is today whether created by the media or not has done so much good for the countries prosperity and healing the war against the whites will not be won by beating them up and sending them away look at Zima as long as they run economics you cant touch them
Nancy Kasvosve(friend) says
Ini hangu ndinobvumirana neyekuti Madiba vari overrated. I was in a conversation once as a Madiba worshipper, with a couple of people who made a really strong argument for how Madiba is a sell out to us Africans ndikaona chiedza. Not that we wanted him to kick out the white ka coz SA's race discourse is a debate unto itself, but just how little... See More he actually did for the South African majority. Nobel prizes are given by the west and the west is notorious for applauding policies that further their interests, Gukurahundi for example and not to mention all the puppet leaders they have helped coup into zvigaro zvenyika. The west sends a bunch of African leaders to the International Court of justice but Bush is sitting pretty in his ranch in Texas after killing all those Iraqis aimlessly. Power politics maface. Madiba's nobel prize was really saying in a hush hush voice thanks for letting us keep the Kimberly mines and Transvaal ranches man, you are spot! I look at South Africa and it is termed ohh the most prosperous African nation but go to Soweto and you see a different story, that’s the real South Africa there. Go see who is still managing the Kimberly mines?? Madiba ndewe mashoko kunyanya plus he a sweet old man but the world needs more than just that. I am personally a fan of Mugabe's philosophy per say, he was not a bad president all together. Only that now he be using these policies to save his own ass. Like he said in his interview with Amanpour each man should be analysed in his own circumstances, when those fools asked him if he wanted Nelson Mandela fame. I want African children to know of Mugabe as the man who marshalled a great nation and I frankly think our tenacity and spirit as Zimbos were fueled by his efforts and the good policies he had on for a while. Mugabe's ideas can be put to good use by a person in a saner frame of mind than he is...
Dominic Tsabora Mhiripiri
well said, Kasvosve
Mugabe is spot in principle but I think Africans have a long way to go hand over power to them they self destruct. Swimming pool yekanzuru ino pera mvura.
THE KILLA!
I second Henry's comment. Mandela was just a tool the apartheid government used to have an easy transition and hold on to much of S. Africa's wealth. which is still the case to this day. that's why they love him so much... because he was the equivalent of Abel Muzorewa in Zimbabwe a puppet for the most part. I know some of his colleagues from when ... See more he was in exile in Tanzania and they all expected little from him as a person...all he was famous for at the base was getting with the ladies! big surprise he got married 3 times, including once on his 80th birthday.
There are no hero’s if you look at it really. Nkomo had a shit tone of flaws as well. I’m sure if he'd been president we would have seen a reverse Gukurahundi on the Shona. It was simply a matter of do unto others before they do unto you, and we won.
So yeah, umm, screw all those madharas, we are looking to the future babe lol.
looool, that one gave me a good laugh..
this all makes it hard to swallow a worldwide "Mandela Day" commemoration each year.. screw politics indeed
Nancy Kasvosve I second VaChaunzwa, we are looking to the future and we ARE the future and the question is what are we going to do differently???madhara ngaaende kofa aya...ini handimo mu Mandela day. I feel like copying this whole conversation and making it a facebook note if you don't do it Domi, i like the discourse of this convo here... AND IT GOES ON.
I end the copying of this conversation here. The big question remains. WE ARE THE FUTURE OF ZIMBABWE AND AFRICA, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY???
