The world all over mourns the death of Nelson Mandela. While many celebrate his life and times, many are faced once again with the reality of death. In all of it how ever, many, too, have questioned the scarcity or abject non-existence of personalities like Mandela in their countries and nations.

South africa struggled with apartheid for a long period of time. It wasn't a struggle for independence per say, but a struggle against racial segregation, and the attendant problems that came with it. South Africans had a COMMON ENEMY. Much like the biblical Goliath was Apartheid, and Mandela was the David to the rescue. He emerged a Hero, being at the forefront of the fight against the common enemy of south african, apartheid.

Listed below are some of the few reasons why nigeria as a country cannot have a Nelson Mandela figure:
1. Tribalism: This has eaten deep into the core of our nationhood. No person emerging as a hero in any of the regions or tribes of the nation does so without being at daggers drawn with other regions or tribal entities. (Take the Awolowo, Sardauna, Ojukwu stories).
2. No common enemy: Nigeria whole has no common enemy. No problem or situation or even people tend to pose a common threat to the peoples and regions of the country. Whatever is going on in the East seems to be a problem of and for the East alone. What ever the war is in the north is regarded a northern problem. It goes on and on all over the country.
3. Careless fight against corruption: Corruption seems to be the only seemingly common enemy of Nigeria. However, the fight against corruption has been on a low ebb. There has been no serious collective struggle against it. As a matter of fact, everyone seems to be in the race to getting a share of the "national cake" by any means necessary or possible. And until corruption is dealt with there wouldn't likely be any tilt towards dealing with the other attendant banes bedeviling our nation.

Nigeria is a country, more or less, united only on paper. The peoples are far apart from each other, our pursuits are at variance. The under lining theories of our being a nation are at variance. We have no common purpose. There simply isn't any national ideology.

Until we desire to deal with these things, and indeed begin to do so, we would wait in vain for a Nigerian Hero like Nelson Mandela.

Rest In Peace Madiba!!!

Another misguided analysis. Mandela only became famous because he was jailed for 27 years by a brutal, racist apartheid regime, following his campaign for equality in the 60s. He did not jail himself. If the British, rather than relinquishing power, had jailed the anti-colonial campaigners in Nigeria in the 50s for 27 years and continued their oppressive rule, those dissidents would have similarly emerged from prison as heroes who 'sacrificed their lives for freedom' etc etc. So Nigeria cannot produce a Mandela for the same reason Germany, Iran, Sweden, and Russia can't - ie because it does not share South Africa's history of apartheid.

ROSSIKE: Another misguided analysis. Mandela only became famous because he was jailed for 27 years by a brutal, racist apartheid regime, following his campaign for equality in the 60s. He did not jail himself. If the British, rather than relinquishing power, had jailed the anti-colonial campaigners in Nigeria in the 50s for 27 years and continued their oppressive rule, those dissidents would have similarly emerged from prison as heroes who 'sacrificed their lives for freedom' etc etc. So Nigeria cannot produce a Mandela for the same reason Germany, Iran, Sweden, and Russia can't - ie because it does not share South Africa's history of apartheid.

Even with the apartheid system animals like you are imposing on suffering nigerians at the moment,you are still saying there is no apartheid in nigeria?

You are such a knobhead.

redsun:

Even with the apartheid system animals like you are imposing on suffering nigerians at the moment,you are still saying there is no apartheid in nigeria?

You are such a knobhead.

Big mouth cretin. So why aren't you rioting so we can lock you up for 27 years? Can't wait to see your bony asss behind bars where it belongs. Oh I forgot, you're based in London. Did Mandela operate from London during apartheid?