No doubts this question will get me some knocks but sincerely I just can't figure what makes this man so special.
is it cos he went to jail for 27 years? or are people crediting him for the fall of apartheid?

He went to jail for a cause, that is commendable but should that single handedly turn him into a global hero the world has suddenly turned him to?What happened to the nationalist who forced the imperialists out of Africa why are they not celebrated by the whole world like mandela?

Others have gone to jail too or even murdered for a cause they believed but not everyone of them gets the hero status mandela is getting.


While most of us are aware the world once saw Mandela
as a terrorist, we’re probably not clear on how deep that
goes. Put simply, if it wasn’t for Mandela, there wouldn’t
have been a military wing of the ANC. Since it was the
military wing that would later target civilians with a bomb
deadlier than the recent Boston attacks , this is actually a
big deal. Bear in mind, the military wing was founded in
response to the Sharpeville Massacre , when armed police
opened fire on protestors, killing 69. Nonetheless, at
least two of the ANC’s attacks targeted innocent
civilians , with fatal results. And such an idiotic action
should never be forgiven.

godspeed: No doubts this question will get me some knocks but sincerely I just can't figure what makes this man so special.
is it cos he went to jail for 27 years? or are people crediting him for the fall of apartheid?

He went to jail for a cause, that is commendable but should that single handedly turn him into a global hero the world has suddenly turned him to?What happened to the nationalist who forced the imperialists out of Africa why are they not celebrated by the whole world like mandela?

Others have gone to jail too or even murdered for a cause they believed but not everyone of them gets the hero status mandela is getting.


While most of us are aware the world once saw Mandela
as a terrorist, we’re probably not clear on how deep that
goes. Put simply, if it wasn’t for Mandela, there wouldn’t
have been a military wing of the ANC. Since it was the
military wing that would later target civilians with a bomb
deadlier than the recent Boston attacks , this is actually a
big deal. Bear in mind, the military wing was founded in
response to the Sharpeville Massacre , when armed police
opened fire on protestors, killing 69. Nonetheless, at
least two of the ANC’s attacks targeted innocent
civilians , with fatal results. And such an idiotic action
should never be forgiven.

So who is paying you?

1. Mandela was opposed to persecuting civilians even though he found the ANC military wing. All attacks targeted at civilians by the ANC military wing was never supported by Mandela.
2. Mandela forgave the whites, this was despite the fact that south Africans were demoralized, dehumanized, discriminated and exploited by the whites. when apartheid finally came to an end it was Mandela who allayed the fears of white settlers who were once culprits!
3. Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years, within those 27 years he was offered conditional freedom 6 times and he rejected 6 times. just for the sake of truth.
4.Mandela had the opportunity to be a leader for life like Ghaddafi and Mugabe but he chose to handover willingly despite the fact that he was seen as a Hero.
are u still there?

YOU DEY MAD ATHINK?

wasak: 1. Mandela was opposed to persecuting civilians even though he found the ANC military wing. All attacks targeted at civilians by the ANC military wing was never supported by Mandela.
2. Mandela forgave the whites, this was despite the fact that south Africans were demoralized, dehumanized, discriminated and exploited by the whites. when apartheid finally came to an end it was Mandela who allayed the fears of white settlers who were once culprits!
3. Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years, within those 27 years he was offered conditional freedom 6 times and he reje
cted 6 times. just for the sake of truth.
4.Mandela had the opportunity to be a leader for life like Ghaddafi and Mugabe but he chose to handover willingly despite the fact that he was seen as a Hero.
are u still there?

I don't know about the six times he was offered conditional freedom but this is from his Wikipedia page ' in February 1985 Botha
offered him a release from prison on
condition that he '"unconditionally rejected
violence as a political weapon". Mandela
spurned the offer, releasing a statement
through his daughter Zindzi stating "What
freedom am I being offered while the
organisation of the people [ANC] remains
banned? Only free men can negotiate. A
prisoner cannot enter into contracts." so he rejected an offer to reject violence.
Talking about the military wing of the ANC the fact remains he founded it and its technically a terrorist organisation so he is responsible. How come people still hold soyinka responsible for introducing cultism to nigerian universities.


He forgave white supremacists? is that an evidence of his nature or just for political expediency?

Believe it or not,mandela is overrated.
I think the reason for the over-exaggeration of mandelanism is because of the poor quality of african leaders.
Mandela is jesus when compared to most african leaders.
Though compared to other past great world leaders,mandela is nothing special.

African did not make him African or world icon. The Europeans that called him terrorist did. If they still maintain that he is a terrorist which off course some British conservatives party members still know him as the world will see I'm as such. Now they see Mugabe as a villain and the world has come to know him as such.

Why did they suddenly remove the tag of terrorism on him, he compromised on his struggle that is why the Apartheid is still going on in South Africa today albeit underground, poverty still dominate black townships in South Africa. On a second thought why must they refer a town inside an African country "black township". The apartheid is still very much activein South Africa of today.

solomon111: Believe it or not,mandela is overrated.
I think the reason for the over-exaggeration of mandelanism is because of the poor quality of african leaders.
Mandela is jesus when compared to most african leaders.
Though compared to other past great world leaders,mandela is nothing special.

You are a cretin for this statement.
Since he is like Jesus compared to other African leaders, you can as well say GEJ is angel Michael since folks like you compare both of them.

Check out this thread
https://www.nairaland.com/1545638/president-jonathan-mandela-doyin-okupe#20039101

Mandela could have started a war against the whites just by a raise of a fist, but he chose the path of reconciliation and forgiveness. He is celebrated not because he fought against the white, not because he went to jail for 27 years but because of this singular act of genuine love for humanity. Right there at the prison gate when he was released he addressed his supporters, telling them that he has forgiven his opressors and they should do thesame. Today South Africa is a country with blacks and whites living together in harmony, all showing respect to one flag and singing one national anthem.

kokoA: Mandela could have started a war against the whites just by a raise of a fist, but he chose the path of reconciliation and forgiveness. He is celebrated not because he fought against the white, not because he went to jail for 27 years but because of this singular act of genuine love for humanity. Right there at the prison gate when he was released he addressed his supporters, telling them that he has forgiven his opressors and they should do thesame. Today South Africa is a country with blacks and whites living together in harmony, all showing respect to one flag and singing one national anthem.

He made the speech based on the terms reached before his release. And who tell you white and black live together? Do whites live in Soweto? Do you know why the police men that shot the protesting miners were not prosecuted? Do you know that the "common purpose" doctrine instituted y the white minority to try ANC during apartheid still exist up till today.

THE MAN IS OVERATED FOR GOD SAKE...ALL NA MEDIA OVERHYPING JARE...I DONT SEE ANYTHING SPECIAL THAT MADE HIM AN AFRICAN HEROE HE MIGHT BE TO S.A BLACKS SHA

the 1966 counter coup is not up to half of what Mandela and south africans went through. yet Nigeria had an all out civil war. Mandela is special, you can't take it away from him. Watch this and learn.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKDrRdfvUg8

Mandela is no hero.
Reasons:
1. He wasn't the only one that fought Apartheid. So many died in the struggle who deserves more credit.
2. Mandela should not talk about forgiveness and peace in the post Apartheid era he should have stood for justice and equity like Mugabe (although Mugabe is at the extreme)
3. You don't organize truth and reconciliation when foreigners occupy your country it is only applicable when citizens oppress fellow citizens. Those white men are not south Africans so they must be given conditions if they want to remain in South Africa. If he were to be a Nigerian we would have accused him of accepting bribe.
4. The West is making him very popular and telling Africans to emulate him so that they will keep milking South Africa.
Finally I hope the death of Mandela will take South Africa to their next Phase of libration which will involve Resource redistribution which is highly in favour of the whites at the moment.

godspeed what is eating you?

Are you a white supremacist?

solomon111: Believe it or not,mandela is overrated.
I think the reason for the over-exaggeration of mandelanism is because of the poor quality of african leaders.
Mandela is jesus when compared to most african leaders.
Though compared to other past great world leaders,mandela is nothing special

The greatness of a man lies in his ability to cease an opportunity for the purpose of liberation.
What evidence have you that if Mandiba was in the situation those past leaders were, he wouldn't do the same or do better?
Bro, it is very wrong to compare people who were given different tasks!

Some of these past leaders weren't as genius in their times as we are made to believe by and from literatures.
Had you not live to witness the reign of Mandiba and you later happened to see many of this literatures written on and about him in future, you will likely rate him more than this your present rating.

Mandela is a hero to black south africans nothing more, nothing less, apart from that i don't see anything special about him, everything is just being over exaggerated.

johndwayy: Mandela is a hero to black south africans nothing more, nothing less, apart from that i don't see anything special about him, everything is just being over exaggerated.

I approve this message!

GenBuhari: godspeed what is eating you?

Are you a white supremacist?

what is eating me?

is that the question? why don't you just answer the question? tell us what you think is so special about yhis man thay makes him the world most adorable person.

it's so obvious you're one of those who celebrate this man you know next to nothing about

kokoA: Mandela could have started a war against the whites just by a raise of a fist, but he chose the path of reconciliation and forgiveness. He is celebrated not because he fought against the white, not because he went to jail for 27 years but because of this singular act of genuine love for humanity. Right there at the prison gate when he was released he addressed his supporters, telling them that he has forgiven his opressors and they should do thesame. Today South Africa is a country with blacks and whites living together in harmony, all showing respect to one flag and singing one national anthem.

Yes Sir whites and blacks are living in harmony but great percentage of the country's resources (mines and farms) are still in the hands of the few whites. harmony my foot

This one is for you @OP

Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel.

By Okwonga

Dear revisionists, Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel. Over the next few days you will try so, so hard to make him something he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view. Right now, you are anxiously pacing the corridors of your condos and country estates, looking for the right words, the right tributes, the right-wing tributes. You will say that Mandela was not about race. You will say that Mandela was not about politics. You will say that Mandela was about nothing but one love, you will try to reduce him to a lilting reggae tune. “Let’s get together, and feel alright.” Yes, you will do that.

You will make out that apartheid was just some sort of evil mystical space disease that suddenly fell from the heavens and settled on all of us, had us all, black or white, in its thrall, until Mandela appeared from the ether to redeem us. You will try to make Mandela a Magic Negro and you will fail. You will say that Mandela stood above all for forgiveness whilst scuttling swiftly over the details of the perversity that he had the grace to forgive.

You will try to make out that apartheid was some horrid spontaneous historical aberration, and not the logical culmination of centuries of imperial arrogance. Yes, you will try that too. You will imply or audaciously state that its evils ended the day Mandela stepped out of jail. You will fold your hands and say the blacks have no-one to blame now but themselves.

Well, try hard as you like, and you’ll fail. Because Mandela was about politics and he was about race and he was about freedom and he was even about force, and he did what he felt he had to do and given the current economic inequality in South Africa he might even have died thinking he didn’t do nearly enough of it. And perhaps the greatest tragedy of Mandela’s life isn’t that he spent almost thirty years jailed by well-heeled racists who tried to shatter millions of spirits through breaking his soul, but that there weren’t or aren’t nearly enough people like him.

Because that’s South Africa now, a country long ago plunged headfirst so deep into the sewage of racial hatred that, for all Mandela’s efforts, it is still retching by the side of the swamp. Just imagine if Cape Town were London. Imagine seeing two million white people living in shacks and mud huts along the M25 as you make your way into the city, where most of the biggest houses and biggest jobs are occupied by a small, affluent to wealthy group of black people. There are no words for the resentment that would still simmer there.

Nelson Mandela was not a god, floating elegantly above us and saving us. He was utterly, thoroughly human, and he did all he did in spite of people like you. There is no need to name you because you know who you are, we know who you are, and you know we know that too. You didn’t break him in life, and you won’t shape him in death. You will try, wherever you are, and you will fail.

Audio:http://soundcloud.com/okwonga/mandela-will-never-ever-be

He is not overrated.
Everyone is just fulfilling all righteousness.
All he did was fight for equality and I doubt if he was the only one.
And he was quite courageous but I don't think one should be praised for doing what ought to be done.

They celebrate Mandela here in Africa, in d west... He's a terrorist

vickyO: I doubt if he was the only one.

I doubt if u can mention another

vickyO:
I don't think one should be praised for doing what ought to be done

wat ought 2b done lyk goin to prison 4 ova 2 decades? -_-

Psylas: They celebrate Mandela here in Africa, in d west... He's a terrorist

same west that gave out their tributes or you'd claim twas hypocrisy?

@eguerrila your long epistle did nothing to answer my question. pls give me specifics what exactly has this man done or achieved that dwarfed what othe anti apartheid campaigners or other African nationalists did to make the world confer on him the title of the world's most adorable personalty.and if u think Mandela was at the forefront of fall of apartheid see below

@ lana vello u need names of others who fought for equality in apartheid south Africa check this

Steven biko

Steve Biko, subject of the film Cry Freedom,
is widely seen as the greatest martyr of the
anti-apartheid movement.
His philosophy that political freedom could
only be achieved if blacks stopped feeling
inferior to whites attracted enormous
international attention, and is considered by
many to be the turning point in the demise of
apartheid.
Born in 1946 in Eastern Cape, Mr Biko
quickly became involved with black politics.
He gave up studying medicine to devote
himself to the struggle, and founded the
Black Consciousness Movement in 1969.
His movement came into its own in the mid
1970s, when the liberation movement
appeared to be faltering, with many ANC
leaders in jail or exile.
The government first acted against Mr Biko
in 1973, restricting his movements and
preventing him from being quoted in public.
He was detained without charge for various
periods after that, until Port Elizabeth
security police arrested him for the last time
in August 1977.

he was killed under clandestine circumstances in custody in 1977

and a white guy...

Mr. Harris , a teacher and a
member of the Liberal Party since
1960 , is one of those few
courageous White men in South
Africa who believed passionately in
racial equality , identified himself
with the oppressed people and
suffered persecution . His passport
was seized in 1963 . He was served
with banning orders in February
1964 preventing him from
continuing his work with the
Liberal Party and the Non-racial
Olympic Committee .
Like many others, he became
convinced that there was no way
left to influence the situation
except by clandestine activity .
When most of his colleagues in the
underground organization, the
African Resistance Movement,
were jailed or fled the country, he
tried to plan a spectacular
demonstration. He placed a bomb
in the Johannesburg station and
telephoned the police so that the
area would be cleared. The police
did not act promptly and an elderly
lady lost her life as a result of the
explosion .

suffice to say mr Harris was promptly executed

But these 2 rarely get mentioned much less get the same credit as mandela

@godspeed,

If you've ever taken time to follow my posts on these boards, you'd know that I always go the extra mile to contextualise my views.

At no point did I infer Mandela's achievements dwarfed that of other campaigners, although I could so easily have done this to satisfy the whims of simpletons. I couldn't on good conscience present a neatly packaged narrative even if I wanted to, because I not only have the greatest regard for so many unheralded heros of the anti-apartheid struggle, but was also fortunate enough to have met some of its leading figures in person. What is more, at the height of the struggle, I was more closely aligned with the Pan African Congress (of Azania), which took a radical and ideological different stance to Mandela's organisation - the ANC.

With the above said, what is obvious from your posts is that, like some other detractors I have read of late, it is obvious you do not understand that at the heart of every 'movement' resides an iconic figure. Frankly, it is this essential factor which coalesces organisations with different orientations around the same agenda. In the case of the anti-apartheid movement (AAM), which started off as a small organisation in Britain before extending its reach around the globe, I think, it was both incidental and instructive that Mandela fitted this bill.

More on the great man...

Six Things Nelson Mandela Believed That Most People Won’t Talk About

DECEMBER 6



In the desire to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life — an iconic figure who triumphed over South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime — it’s tempting to homogenize his views into something everyone can support. This is not, however, an accurate representation of the man.
Mandela was a political activist and agitator. He did not shy away from controversy and he did not seek — or obtain — universal approval. Before and after his release from prison, he embraced an unabashedly progressive and provocative platform. As one commentator put it shortly after the announcement of the freedom fighter’s death, “Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel. Over the next few days you will try so, so hard to make him something he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view.”

As the world remembers Mandela, here are some of the things he believed that many will gloss over.

1. Mandela blasted the Iraq War and American imperialism. Mandela called Bush “a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly,” and accused him of “wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust” by going to war in Iraq. “All that (Mr. Bush) wants is Iraqi oil,” he said. Mandela even speculated that then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan was being undermined in the process because he was black. “They never did that when secretary-generals were white,” he said. He saw the Iraq War as a greater problem of American imperialism around the world. “If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care,” he said.

2. Mandela called freedom from poverty a “fundamental human right.” Mandela considered poverty one of the greatest evils in the world, and spoke out against inequality everywhere. “Massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times — times in which the world boasts breathtaking advances in science, technology, industry and wealth accumulation — that they have to rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils,” he said. He considered ending poverty a basic human duty: “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life,” he said. “While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.”

3.Mandela criticized the “War on Terror” and the labeling of individuals as terrorists without due process. On the U.S. terrorist watch list until 2008 himself, Mandela was an outspoken critic of President George W. Bush’s war on terror. He warned against rushing to label terrorists without due process. While forcefully calling for Osama bin Laden to be brought to justice, Mandela remarked, “The labeling of Osama bin Laden as the terrorist responsible for those acts before he had been tried and convicted could also be seen as undermining some of the basic tenets of the rule of law.”

4. Mandela called out racism in America. On a trip to New York City in 1990, Mandela made a point of visiting Harlem and praising African Americans’ struggles against “the injustices of racist discrimination and economic equality.” He reminded a larger crowd at Yankee Stadium that racism was not exclusively a South African phenomenon. “As we enter the last decade of the 20th century, it is intolerable, unacceptable, that the cancer of racism is still eating away at the fabric of societies in different parts of our planet,” he said. “All of us, black and white, should spare no effort in our struggle against all forms and manifestations of racism, wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head.”

5. Mandela embraced some of America’s biggest political enemies. Mandela incited shock and anger in many American communities for refusing to denounce Cuban dictator Fidel Castro or Libyan Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who had lent their support to Mandela against South African apartheid. “One of the mistakes the Western world makes is to think that their enemies should be our enemies,” he explained to an American TV audience. “We have our own struggle.” He added that those leaders “are placing resources at our disposal to win the struggle.” He also called the controversial Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat “a comrade in arms.”

6. Mandela was a die-hard supporter of labor unions. Mandela visited the Detroit auto workers union when touring the U.S., immediately claiming kinship with them. “Sisters and brothers, friends and comrades, the man who is speaking is not a stranger here,” he said. “The man who is speaking is a member of the UAW. I am your flesh and blood.”

Source

Interesting...

I might be leaning towards your sentiments a little bit, however, when you consider that the man gave 27 years of life to this people. How many people can do that? Yes, he did compromise for a little gain, when everything was in his favour to ask for something bigger. Human and race relations in the 90's was far better than when he was imprisoned. South Africa (or probably Palestine as well but Palestine is another kettle of fish entirely) was the only country on the planet where segregation and extreme racism was overt and institutionalised. Segregation had already ended in America. Almost all the countries in Africa were independent - including South African countries. The Berlin wall had been smashed to the floor. So he could have asked for a better bargain, since he had the support almost everyone on the planet - save for a few neo-cons and neo-liberals in the West, and the zionists in Israel.

However, he said for less. But you can't fault him for that. Sometimes, getting little is better than nothing at all. It's all getting people off your back and consolidating on that. I believe the most important thing is that: if South Africans are happy about whatever Nelson Mandela achieved for them, then we all ought to be happy with them. Also, I've read a few article from South African activists and academics who are appalled by the image the West gave him. They believe the western media isn't doing his legacy any good by taking away all the revolutionary things that he did - and turning him into a Mother Theresa-esque kind of man. At the end of the South Africa isn't perfect yet and there are still many battles to be fought. So they want the image of the REAL Nelson Mandela - who stood up against white oppression. All in all, we all look at things differently and choose our heroes based on our understanding of things.

Also, I had a discourse with a friend whose parents are from Uganda at work, a few days ago, about Nelson Mandela. From there, we moved on to talking about Africa in general and I asked him about Kony and Idi Amin. You'd be shocked that the guy actually thinks Kony is a great man and a freedom fighter (save for his excesses) - and that Idi Amin was the best president Uganda ever had. Heck, he said, there will never be anyone like Idi Amin in Uganda. He also asserted that Patrice Lumumba was overrated - and that the two greatest Africans ever were Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere. He explained everything to me because personally, I rate Patrice Lumumba highly. However, after listening to his explanations, I couldn't find any fault there - though I disagree with some of his assertions.

My point is that, we all rate people based on how we define greatness. To me, I define greatness as the ability to develop a school-of-thought/ideology, that people can align with, even when you're long gone and buried. That's why people like: Malcolm X, Steven Biko, Gaddafi, Awolowo, Harriet Tubman and Kwame Nkrumah would always be up there as the Africans/black-people (Gaddafi saw himself as a black man) that I rate the most. However, I still have the utmost respect for the others who stood firm and fought for the freedom and the survival of black folks.

So we need to be careful, so as not to get too careless by questioning what's "Special" about someone who gave 27 years of life for a cause that he believed in. Something almost every black person can't do. Mumia Abu-Jamal is still in prison for fighting for black people in America - how many black people remember him? Assata Shakur has been on exile in Cuba for almost forever now for being down for the cause - how many black people remember her? Be careful, brother!!

Shalom!!

To me the special thing about Mandela was not the fact that the went to prison or what he did before he went to prison.

I feel what made him special was the life he lived when he came out. I just finished watching his documentary and was moved. He did not allow the bitterness of spending 27 years in prison influence him.

He lived for peace and reconciliation. Whilst he was in prison the hatred between the whites and the blacks in SA was beyond control.

He was able to reconcile them and made them forgive each other genuinely. When he became president, he embraced everybody equally both the black and white minority. And he didn't persecute those that jailed and tortured him.

Outside SA, he criticised the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He used his influence to raise billions of pounds to fight aids and poverty in Africa

He was really special

@shymexx brilliant.loved how you articulated ur points

@eguerrila you sound to me like a very intelligent mind but my point is this whole mandelamania is just too overrated, way too overrated. it's just a picture created by the
western media probably to appease blacks.

giving 27 years of your life in prison for a cause does not compare to giving your life like the two people I cited. why are they not also celebrated in the mould of mandela?

solomon111: Believe it or not,mandela is overrated.
I think the reason for the over-exaggeration of mandelanism is because of the poor quality of african leaders.

I second


Check this too. An african leader believed to be more than Mandiba https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=457492054356788&id=262884720484190&set=a.263800997059229.49447.262884720484190&refid=17

godspeed: @shymexx brilliant.loved how you articulated ur points

@eguerrila you sound to me like a very intelligent mind but my point is this whole mandelamania is just too overrated, way too overrated. it's just a picture created by the
western media probably to appease blacks.

giving 27 years of your life in prison for a cause does not compare to giving your life like the two people I cited. why are they not also celebrated in the mould of mandela?

I agree with you bro. It was all a bandwagon effect.