Mandela Deserves NOT the Glory -By Muhyideen Kolawole

Do you not worry yourself about the tittle? Even as I write, I bury worries within me because Mandela’s existence in my present life gives me not only a living vision but also leadership skills. And besides, the storyline of Rolihlahla has triggered me to read many other heroes like Mahatma Gandhi and the likes.

Years ago I read his autobiography. Less I knew about the book’s impact but now, after I’ve taken steps to solve problems and I resolved to victory, I would come back to think whose guidance I had followed. Close examinations always revealed that I had done it like Nelson.

I must confess that reading his ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ brought me close to reading autobiographies. My frequent bookstore knows my daily request; “any available auto book?” would be my enquiry anytime I visit. ‘Awo’, ‘Ben Carson’, ‘Gandhi’, ‘Maya Angeleo’ among many others I’ve read. I don’t only read, I do close cross comparison after every story. And now, let me share three unique features common to them all.

Service to humanity gives birth to popularity. The first common attribute they possessed was that they have their people at heart. Remember Nelson’s struggles in school, in practice and had led him to nationalism. Gandhi could also have withdrawn his struggles in South Africa for India freedom if not that his love for the people whose sweat and blood will continue to retain his name even after his death.

It’s so sad that the otherwise is the case today. While the country men and women stand at fighting for themselves and the leaders, the leaders retire, awake to looting the people’s fund. But history has said it all, their grandchildren may live long to witness the end of the world but that the last chapter of their stories in the golden book of history.

Resilience is another common feature that I’ve studied among these leaders. They don’t submit themselves to one-time defeat. Throughout their lives, I realized that they only became successful at the end not even midway. Awolowo for instance, after his business had established, a great setback befell him which turned his wealth to nought. Did he accept defeat? Did he commit suicide afterwards? No. He went for a loan and started again. But at the end, he survived.

Same happened to Nelson. Had he submitted himself to the government’s victimizations and intimidations, what will you know about him today? Infact, just last night Maya Angeleo was telling me how she insisted on breaking the jinx securing streetcar job. “I was hired as the first Negro on the San Francisco streetcars,” she said. Had she quit like other Negros, would she make the story? Lesson learnt: never quit.

The third common trait I’ve learnt for years among these heroes was truth. They feel guilty when they were cought lying. They really trained themselves on that. It’s not easy to refrain from falsehood. Even at a point of death, they maintained the virtue. Sometimes I wonder if they were really men because their level of orientations strike more than imagination.

Mandela owns today. You may also own tomorrow if only you can do what he did. If Rolihlahla Nelson Madela who restructured South Africa and my life doesn’t deserve the glory, would you crown it those who stood against him and our leaders today? 

I salute you.

Muhyideen Kolawole is a student journalist. He is a final year student of English Language at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.