It was the day when the globe’s greatest living statesman took his last breath and after 95 years of a life filled with nobility and exemplary humanity in the face of unspeakable horrors, Nelson Mandela made his transition from this life. It was the day when the tallest and strongest of trees in our forest was felled.
But then again, Nelson Mandela was much more than a statesman, more than the epitome of iconic stature, more than a voice that commanded the world’s attention, more than the cause celebre who spent 27 years of his life in a racist, apartheid prison and whose example moved millions of his people to take their destiny into their own hands and inspired millions more around the world struggling for freedom and justice, more than the man whose sheer moral strength forced his oppressors to free him from bondage, more than the person who shortly after his release from prison went on to become the first Black President of South Africa.
Nelson Mandela was, in the final analysis, the very definition of human integrity, selflessness, courage, forgiveness, discipline and utter loyalty to friends, allies, comrades and, most importantly, fealty to the high principles that he lived by. No contemporary leader anywhere in today’s world, including his beloved South Africa, comes close to matching Mandela’s qualities.
To be sure, there will be torrents of tributes uttered in his honor in the days to come. Some will soar with eloquence and many will drip with hypocrisy. But at the end of the day the legacy of this honest and humble man will be cherished for generations to come as one who gave his life, not only for his people’s liberation, but also for the inalienable rights and the basic human dignity of billions of human beings struggling daily on every continent against social injustice and economic inequality.
Let us hope and pray that those of us who today praise Nelson Mandela will find the courage and tenacity to conduct ourselves henceforth as he did when he walked this earth of ours. May he rest in peace with his ancestors.
