AS anticipated, the world is mourning the passing of the revered and iconic South African leader Nelson Mandela, who passed away on Thursday at age 95. Like most great personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King (jr) and very few others of the same ilk, he was void of arrogance, hatred, malice and pomposity. 

He was characterised by humility, compassion and an unswerving commitment to betterment for mankind.
After he was released from prison on Robben Island where he spent over 27 years, it was reported that the white prison guards cried because of the great friendship he developed with them demonstrating that he held no hatred for them. He hated the system but not individuals, whom he considered its mere victims.
Mandela’s entire life was dedicated to the epic, selfless and indomitable struggle against the abhorrent and inhuman apartheid system in his country and against injustice wherever and in whatever form it existed.
“During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. I do not, however, deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation, and oppression of my people by whites.” (Statement by Mandela to the court during the Rivonia trial, April, 20, 1964)
What is also remarkable about Mandela is that, as is so often the case with many leaders, on ascension to the South African presidency he did not become vindictive, power drunk, obsessed with accumulation of wealth and corrupt. He remained the same humble and caring person, and consequently opted for a path of reconciliation and no retribution against his political foes.
Mandela, addressing a public meeting after his release from prison on February 11, 1990, said: “I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.”

And at his presidential inauguration, he stated: “The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us…We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.” However, what is ironic is that many persons and countries who would be paying glowing tributes to this great man actually contributed to the suffering of the South African people and ostracisation of Mandela and many of his colleagues under the horrible apartheid system. In fact, many of them did not utter a word of condemnation nor did anything to put pressure on the then government to end apartheid and free Mandela and many of his colleagues. On the contrary, they supported forces opposed to the South African freedom fighters through overt and covert operations. And today many of them are still fomenting war, violence and sabotage among those who do not follow their diktat and are considered to be “terrorists” and violators of human rights.
Such is the hypocrisy by some in this world.
Giving glorifying speeches and messages on Mandela’s greatness are welcome and necessary, but what is more important is for us to try to emulate his ideals of humility, compassion,the unending struggle against injustice and commitment to the betterment of mankind regardless of race or creed.
Mandela, in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in December 1993, said: “Let the strivings of us all prove Martin Luther King Jr. to have been correct, when he said that humanity can no longer be tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war. Let the efforts of us all prove that he was not a mere dreamer when he spoke of the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace being more precious than diamonds or silver or gold. Let a new age dawn.”