When Madiba's health started to fail for real in the middle of the year and we all realized that the inevitable was going to happen sooner than anyone was ready to admit, I tried to prepare. This article was written for The East African a few months ago:
"The Age of African Heroes is Ending
Friday 17th May, 2013
This past week we have been forced to
grapple with Nelson Mandela's frailty, his mortality. For all that I
make the argument that it is dangerous to revere individual
politicians, in reality everyone needs to believe in tangible
manifestations of goodness. The thought of a world in which Madiba is
not present to shower everyone- young, old, rich, poor, African or
not- with his warmth and grandfatherly affection is quite sad. In the
face of this, how does one confront the legend that is Madiba and
reconcile him with the reality of his humanity? What is the nature of
his legacy?
During my last stint in South Africa I
was surprised on two counts with regards to Madiba's reputation.
Listening to the radio one day I stumbled across a poll where South
African teenagers where being asked what they thought of Mandela and
how he had impacted on their lives. I couldn't believe my ears as one
respondent in particular assured the presenter that Nelson Mandela
was old and irrelevant and that he couldn't possibly see the point in
even discussing him.
Blessed are the young, privileged
enough to grow up so unfettered as to discard the memory of those who
made sacrifices for their survival. In a perverse way this person was
a sign of the success of the new and improved South Africa. One where
the youth could, but don't have to lug around their predecessors
traumas, their prejudices... and in some instances not even their
wisdom. They can- and do- create their own universe of problems and
advantages. How many of us have stood on the shoulders of giants and
taken it for granted that the wide-open vistas before us are our
birthright? Then again, how many youth on the continent have been
crushed underfoot by war-mongerers?
The second surprise came during a
discussion of South Africa's current inequality problems- Madiba was
served a rather large portion of the blame. After all, he didn't
forcibly redistribute wealth when he ascended to power, perhaps
betraying the dreams of millions of what the new South Africa would
be like. This is not an unfamiliar argument. Had his fence-mending
ways done more harm than good, in the end? Was that his big mistake?
Should he have taken his cues from the likes of Robert Mugabe?
The South African grilled chicken
franchise Nando's has built a solid reputation for fearless social
messaging through its controversial advertizing campaigns. During the
worst of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa a few years ago, they
put out an ad that essentially said that if South Africans were to
kick out everyone who doesn't belong there, the only people left
would be the San- the only folk with a claim to being indigenous. It
challenged the prevailing message that rendered South Africa in a
rigid dichotomy of 'Black' versus everyone else and touched upon-
obliquely- the truth that even Black history isn't entirely saintly.
Some of the conspiracy theories about
how Mandela was bought off by vested interests and installed in order
to protect them from retribution made me wonder. Politicians are,
after all, people. There is a universality to the profession, no
matter what the motivations of the individuals within it. And power
is not a force that lends itself to gentleness. Wealth? Yes, as every
tediously predictable kleptocrat has proven repeatedly. Wisdom? On
occasion. But gentleness?
Mandela is reassuringly human. His life
is well-documented so his mistakes and his triumphs are available for
all to consider. I think the single greatest service he has tried to
render to his country was his work towards promoting the idea of a
single, united and peaceful South Africa. And he made it work by
transforming himself into a beacon of gentleness, forgiveness,
conciliation. An amazing feat for a man who is, at the end of the
day, just a man.
Certain ideals are not destinations
that one arrives at when everything else is in place. Freedom, peace-
paradoxically they have to fought for, but after the storm passes
they have to be transformed into practices rather than vague notions.
Mandela devoted his post-prison career to embodying pacifism. In this
hard world, this is not a quality that leaders embrace openly- unless
they happen to be clerics. Which has led to this- a modern world of
unprecedented 'democracy' in which peace and good sense are in
startlingly short supply.
We struggle with the notion of a
greater good, none more so than those in positions of leadership.
Nelson Mandela, I think, was pretty clear on this front. Whether he
was correct in the manner that he pursued his vision of a better
South Africa and by extension a better world may be a matter of
debate. But at the end of the day, I think that Madiba is beloved
not for being right per se, but for trying his best to do the right
thing. An everyday, solid, and true heroism- that might just be the
very core of his legacy."
It turns out that you can't really prepare your heart for the passing of a hero, after all. It hurts to say goodbye to you, Madiba. Thank you. Rest well.