Over ninety world leaders have now resumed their demanding jobs in their respective offices after their journey to South Africa to pay their tributes to the first black president of the Republic of South Africa- Nelson Mandela. Mandela died at the age of 95, after a long and recurrent illness.
Indeed, such a dignified and heavily covered memorial service had never been seen in living memory. Many of the world leaders, including Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegne ofEthiopia, were able to express and articulate their commitment to following the path walked by Mandela – a long journey to free his people from the binds of apartheid.
Mandela’s reconciliation and ability to forgive after so many years in solitary confinement was nothing short of amazing. His journey ended with bringing all races together and giving all citizens the opportunity to democratically elect their leaders.
The attendance of over 90 heads of nations and over 60,000 mourners from all over the world was in itself a ground breaking record, beyond the many touching expressions and messages conveyed therein. Many of the speeches given by political and religious leaders fell short of having adequate words to describe the worth of the personality of Mandela and his visions.
Some of them were so eloquent and rich in personal encounters and anecdotes that one came to wonder how much Mandela’s death could give humanity the opportunity to look ahead. Of course, it also indicates the burden of responsibilities we have to bear in order to make this world a better place to live.
Nelson Mandela has been portrayed as a Messiah or a redeemer, even to the extent of giving us the impression that we are not really sure as to whom we are talking about. The realities on the ground in South Africa today tells us of growing corruption, increasing and uneven disparity between the rich and the poor, growing unemployment and expanding delinquency.
At the national memorial service, many South Africans embarrassed their president Jacob Zuma by expressing their discontent when he attempted to deliver a speech. But some of the deliverances were exacting, even if distant from historical truth.
A few of the eloquent speeches made by a number of leaders seemed to overlook the facts within their historical perspectives. Some of these facts are unequivocally included in the book – ‘A long Walk to Freedom’ – by Nelson Mandela himself.
It must be noted that, whilst the icon was able to fight racism in a free country, Ethiopianism – the root essence of freedom from subjugation, irrespective of colour – was in effect the germ for the inception of the African National Congress (ANC). Even then, it is an untold truth that Mandela had been given short-term training in guerrilla warfare at Sendafa Police Training Centre – in our country, under the now retired Fekadu Wakaye (Col.).
Another untold story, which was revealed only too late, was the conspiracy to assassinate Mandela by agents led by a certain Abraham, but aborted by Gutta Dinka (Maj). Gutta rejected a huge amount of money offered to him by conspirators, but reported the secret to Taddesse Birru (Gen) – the official who extradited the agents out of the country in 24 hours.
The assassination attempt and its successful intervention were kept secret, even from Mandela himself, because Taddesse had passed strict orders down the hierarchy of authority to keep it confidential. Incidentally, Guttu was able to go toSouth Africato mourn the passing away of Mandela – perhaps with regret, as he would have liked to reveal the secret before it was late. Both men have now come into the limelight of the media and the story is unfolding.
Ethiopia’s tangible contributions go beyond training Mandela or foiling the attempt to kill him. The late Yidnekatchew Tessema, aka the Rock of Gibraltar, had unflinchingly fought against the apartheid system by alienatingSouth Africaduring the initial African Cup of Nations competitions, until that country got rid of its racial political system.
EthiopiaandLiberiahave both fought tooth and nail atthe Hagueon the case between South West Africa, now calledNamibia, andSouth Africa, until that part ofSouthern Africabecame free.Ethiopiahas also extended its helping hands, both through direct means and metaphor, to countries likeZimbabweand others fighting against colonialism.
When Hailemariam Dessalegne expressed his commitment to make attempts to relive the visions and aspirations of Mandela in his fight for freedom, many people were poised with the reverse attitude that historical truth has to be faced squarely.
IsEthiopiareally learning lessons from their own making?
This is not to deny and down play Mandela’s contributions to peacefully bringing together the people ofSouth Africa, regardless of their colour, creed or political ideology. This is certainly a major lesson to be learnt by some African leaders in particular.
Mandela, in every account, has lived a precious and exemplary life; one that the world should try to emulate as much as possible. Every leader cannot be expected to behave and act like Mandela.
But after having taken oaths to carry on the torch of freedom, it will be appropriate to imagine that some of these leaders will confront the demand of soul searching as to how much they are ready to fight against the fear and mistrust of facing the truth, be courageous enough to take the first step to be conciliatory and work together for the good of their countries.
Heads of states may make decisions involving billions of dollars, or even projects that may cost human lives. But sitting around tables to peacefully discuss political issues of national interest cannot be that difficult and scary if only there is good will and tolerance.
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