Nelson Mandela

Introduction

No contemporary leader has piqued my interest and influenced my thinking more than Mandiba Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Without question, I consider him the greatest leader of the last century. My adulation for him is such that I will be remiss were I not to give him his kudos while he’s alive. His selfless nature astounds me. I am a voracious consumer of readings on him. It is this hunger for everything Mandiba that culminated into this mini-research about his upbringing, his sense of family, his politics—his life. Originally intended as an academic paper, it has been tweaked for the reading pleasure of the everyday Mandela fan. After perusing this testament to the man’s greatness, I hope that you’ll join me in wishing Africa and the world many more of his caliber to come.      

A Master of his Worlds 

In the Republic of South Africa and elsewhere around the world, Nelson Mandela is a household name. Despite racial persecution, he grew up nurturing the values of family and nation, values that supported his fight against apartheid. He is revered for his ability to accomplish unusual feats. A robust, strong-willed and legendary political genius, he is also a caring family person. In 90 turbulent years of life, Mandela has virtually been to hell and back. At every stage in his life, from the day of his birth, he has been constantly challenged by hardship. Indeed, he has broken loose from all sorts of servitude while wielding enormous political ingenuity.

1918, the year of Mandela’s birth coincided with the outbreak of an influenza epidemic that killed millions throughout the world. (N. Mandela, Long Walk, 1) He survived this scourge only to begin, at a very young age, a long and tedious battle against society’s inequities. A descendant of the “left hand house” (the underprivileged in the Xhosa tradition), he was never destined for prominence and power. To add to his problems, he lost his father when he was only ten years old. These circumstances compelled him to seek an alternative course of action that would guarantee him a better future. Thus, he decided to forego the warmth of parental care to seek quality education in faraway Mqekezweni. (Meer, 7)  In Mqekezeweni, Mandela became endeared to Chief Jongintaba, the extended relative in whose care he lived, because he was an outstanding student and trustworthy servant.

This amiable relationship, however, created another test for Mandela. Considering him as his own son, and thus in fulfillment of traditional responsibility, Chief Jogintaba arranged a marriage for Mandela as soon as he attained puberty. Tradition obliged Mandela to accept this arrangement regardless of his personal feelings toward the bride. Not wanting to compromise his belief in the freedom of choice, he fled to Johannesburg. (Meer, 7)

In Johannesburg survival was a struggle. He longed for a profession that would be profitable. In this regard, he drew on his experience from Mqekezweni. While there, he had loved to sit through traditional proceedings at Chief Jogintaba’s court. This proved vital in his choice of vocation in Johannesburg. Not long after his arrival, he began to work with influential lawyers as an apprentice. He grew to love this profession especially because of the opportunity it afforded him to mingle with members of the ruling class. Also, it helped him to better understand the workings of apartheid.

In his autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom”, he recalls a young white secretary who was very welcoming at the law firm. Upon his arrival there, she had told him that “there is no color bar here.” But, for his coffee break, they had to get a separate cup for him. Yes, he could have tea as everyone else but could not share the cup with which they drank. He believed this was evidence of the very color bar she had gone at length to deny. (63)

At the law firm, Mandela was entirely responsible to represent the interest of blacks facing prosecution for violating apartheid laws such as the “pass act.” This legal practice coupled with the personal hardships he encountered strengthened his desire to challenge the apartheid system. So, he resolved to spend his life fighting for its abolition. This though was to be no small undertaking. He was gearing up to challenge a government strengthened by vast political, military and economic power put at its disposal by centuries of colonial rule. Andre Brink sums up Mandela’s bravery at this point as a “sacrificing of his future to untold suffering.” (188)

Subsequently, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) - a movement of black South Africans dedicated to the restoration of a non-racial political system. At the ANC, he spearheaded the formation of a Youth League geared toward a more radical approach in the fight for black rights. His courage and bravery led to his emergence as the undisputed leader and the embodiment of the black majority’s aspirations. (Mathabane, X04+)  He declared his determination to face the system head on no matter the consequences. In the midst of all these political maneuvers, however, Mandela felt a pressing need to establish a family of his own.

Accordingly, he proposed to Winnie who had been introduced to him by Adelaide, the fiancée of Oliver Tambo, a leading member of the ANC. The incidents preceding the marriage bespeak how much ordinary South Africans had grown to believe that Mandela and politics were indivisibly bound. Hilda, Winnie’s step-mother, upon being told of the proposal asked Winnie: “What life do you expect to lead with a man who is married to politics?” (Meer, 120) Also, Kokani, Winnie’s father, who reluctantly accepted the union, gave his daughter the following warning: “This marriage will be no bed of roses; it is threatened from all sides, and only the deepest love will preserve it.” (Meer, 125) In effect, Mandela was using the marriage to dispel the notion that he believed more in politics than family. By marrying, he hoped to indicate his sense of commitment to both the worlds of politics and family.

To underline this point, he had the vehicles in their wedding procession “bedecked with ANC colors.” (Meer, 128) This emphasized his unflinching belief that politics and family were equal parts of his life and that if handled well, they could enhance rather than destroy each other.

Married and at home, Mandela remained relentless in the political struggle. He fast established himself as a courageous leader. The ANC having failed for many years to overturn apartheid through peaceful means turned to Mandela for a better strategy. In this regard, Mandela reasoned that the apartheid government’s insensitivity to the plight of the black majority was sufficient justification to employ physical sabotage. Accordingly, he formulated his famous M-Plan which was essentially a “blueprint for the transition to underground operations.” (Davis, 13) His overriding conviction was that “decisiveness, discipline, weaponry, secure underground networks and military competence” were necessary to dislodge the government. Thus, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the nation), the armed wing of the ANC, was born. (Davis, 14)

In the process of wresting a fair share of power and freedom from this well-established apartheid political machinery, Mandela made himself vulnerable to unimaginable deprivations. The government designed a host of methods to trap him. The pressure to deliver on his political agenda was so overwhelming that he worked endlessly to counter every move by the government to sabotage his endeavor. To avoid arrest, he temporarily sacrificed his love for family and clan to go underground. He believed that this short term physical alienation from his family and people was necessary to ensure a long run permanent association that would be characterized by prosperity and total freedom.

In fact, he considered the political struggle as a manifestation of his love for his family and people. He therefore looked upon his involvement with it as an extension of his sacred traditional responsibility. Now, Mandela was “everywhere and nowhere” writes Stephen Davis in his book: “Apartheid Rebels.” In this short statement, Davis sums up the whole essence of Mandela’s strategy in the early days of his battle with the apartheid authorities. In his desperate attempt to undermine the apartheid establishment and evade arrest, he lived the life of a literal fugitive.

Having vowed that “I will not leave South Africa, nor will I surrender”, and conceding that “only through hardship, sacrifice and militant action can freedom be won” (N. Mandela, No Easy Walk, 109), he had to continue to elude the police apparatus.  He never stayed more than a day or two in one location. He was constantly on the run. Even in this situation, however, he did all possible to provide the basic needs to his family. As Winnie Mandela explains in her book “Part of my Soul Went with Him”:

                  ……washing his shirt one day, I found a document in his pocket.

                  He had paid rent for six months….that was unusual. He was

                  trying to think of ways in which I would be able to face life more

                  easily without him. And then the car, it was not in order, and

                  suddenly he had it repaired. (72)

Winnie goes on to confirm that though his “hideouts were all over the country,” he still managed to see his family intermittently. Sympathetic white friends of the African struggle arranged his visits. She confesses, “I don’t know to this day who they were. I would just find myself at the end of the journey in some white house; and in most cases when we got there they were deserted…arrangements had been made for families to stay away while we were there together.” (72) In these trying times, Mandela continued to nurture his belief in the complementary nature of politics and family values.

To strengthen the ANC and its newly formed armed unit, Mandela, along with Oliver Tambo, slipped across the borders and embarked on an African tour. In their months of travel, they succeeded in securing substantial financial assistance from many African governments. They also got pledges of technical assistance in the form of a training opportunity for their armed recruits.

By the time he returned to South Africa in 1962, Mandela had become the most wanted man by the apartheid security network. For many more months, he played hide and seek with the police. However, he ran out of luck. One day, dressed as a chauffeur on the road to Pitermaritzburg, he fell into the police dragnet. He was arrested, tried and sentenced to five years imprisonment for “incitement and illegally leaving the country.” (Scheub, 16) While serving this initial sentence, he was hauled from prison to face treason charges along with other members of the high command of Umkhonto we Sizwe following a police raid of their Rovinia hideout.

The trial, though obviously partial and almost certain to result in a death sentence, did not dampen Mandela’s spirit. Through it all, he remained steadfast and vocal on the issue of the need for the restoration of a non-racial democracy. He admitted his complicity in the effort to dethrone the apartheid regime. He maintained that these activities were not geared toward chaos, but rather grew out of a deep-seated concern for the well-being of his people. He concluded his statement from the dock by reiterating that “during my life I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. This is an ideal, which I hope to live for and achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” (Brink 191) At the end of the trial, as expected, they were all ruled guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

They were whisked off to Robben Island, the notorious apartheid prison “intended to be a place for the destruction of anti-apartheid militants.” But with Mandela, the prison took on an entirely new meaning. “It instead became a center of resistance and the symbol of indestructibility of the movement for the creation of a non-racial democratic South Africa.” (Naidoo, 277) In prison, Mandela exhibited his sense of commitment not only to the struggle but to individual South Africans as well. Indres Naidoo, himself a ten-year veteran of Robben Island, writes that no one “can remain unmoved by the calmness and strength of Mandela…kept in a prison within the prison, yet somehow managing to remain in touch with his fellow prisoners.” (8)

What is even more interesting is that under the weight of untold human degradation, Mandela found avenues to coordinate family and clan affairs. From Robben Island, he arranged educational opportunities for his children, nephews and nieces. He also built a huge network of internal and external contacts in his continuous bid to foster the cause of the downtrodden South African majority. How he achieved all this from prison is yet another testament to his natural gifts as a leader. The prison wardens over the time of Mandela’s stay at Robben Island, became mesmerized by his charm and charisma. They began to view him more like a ‘revered one’ than as the prisoner he really was. As aptly put by former United States President Bill Clinton, he endured a gruesome 27 years of incarceration “not in anger, but in hope, passion, [and] determination to put things right in a spirit of reconciliation and harmony.” (Mathis, 22+)

Gaining his freedom in 1991, Mandela began where he left off 27 years back. The “patience, wisdom and visionary quality, and, above all the moral integrity with which he set about to unify a divided people,” set the stage for South Africa’s first ever non-racial democratic elections at which he was overwhelmingly confirmed as president. (Daley, 5+)

Even in this high office, Mandela continued to tread the path of a pacifist and an ordinary person. He insistently spoke of a South Africa that “need[ed] white to be a rainbow nation.” He went beyond words and took symbolic steps to promote this non-racial political agenda. In one such gesture, he paid a personal visit to Betsie Verwoerd, the now deceased widow of Hendrik Verwoerd, the man who was the “architect of apartheid.” (Daley, 5+) Mandela “is never deluded by the adulation of the world” writes Andre Brink. Commenting on a negative appraisal of his performance as a leader aired by the BBC, Mandela said with a smile “it helps to make me human.” (Brink, 192)

Mandela has always mirrored the suffering of the majority of South Africans in particular, and Africans in general, through the personal experiences of his own household. The personal pain, anger and humiliation of having Zindzi, his youngest daughter, carry an identification pass in her own country made him very empathetic to the cause of millions of others who had to do likewise. It is thus clear that the love of family was his single greatest inspiration in battling the unjust apartheid system. Similarly, the national political struggle hardened him to willfully shed his compassionate and emotional instincts and endure physical hardships.

In fact, perceiving family and nation as interwoven issues that could be used to reinforce each other was the key to Mandela’s success. How he kept those two institutions internally tied but externally separate is quite admirable. Though he has oftentimes argued, “I am not a messiah but an ordinary man who has become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances” (Brink, 188), many, including this writer, actually see him as “some sort of a saint.” (Quinn, 25+) He possesses a combination of striking attributes that define him both as ‘the ordinary man’ and ‘the political genius.’ He has achieved an amazing balance between his traditional family responsibilities and his unshakable commitment to seek political redemption for all disadvantaged South Africans and by extension, all peoples everywhere.  He has simultaneously succeeded in his dual role as a caring and compassionate family man as well as a robust and defiant politician. Through his willingness to walk the road of sacrifice, he has reaffirmed “humanity’s potential to attain the qualities of faith, hope and charity.” (Brink, 192)

Truly, Mandela is a phenomenon the like of whom might not be seen again in my lifetime. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Works Cited

Brink, Andre. “Nelson Mandela”. Time, 13 April 1998, 188-195 Daley, Suzanne. “Mandela Eases Criticism of White Privilege.”  The New York Times, 7 Feb. 1998, A5+

Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1994

Mandela, Nelson. No Easy Walk to Freedom. New Hampshire: Heinemann Educational        Books Ltd., 1965

Mandela, Winnie. Part of my Soul Went With Him. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1985

Mathabane, Mark. “Two Roads to Social Justice.” The Washington Post, 15 Feb. 1998, X04+

Mathis, Nancy. “Clinton is Given Tour by Mandela.” Houston Chronicle, 28 Mar. 1998 22+

Meer, Fatima. Higher Than Hope: The Authorized Biography of Nelson Mandela. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, Inc., 1990

Naidoo, Indres. Robben Island. New York: Random House, Inc., 1982

Scheub, Harold. The Tongue is Fire. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996

Quinn, Sally. “The Season of Love for Nelson Mandela.” Houston Chronicle, 08 Mar. 1998, 25+

About the Author: Momoh Sekou Dudu is an Assistant Professor of Finance & Accounting at Brown College, Mendota Heights, Minnesota.  He is also an Adjunct Instructor at the College of Business & Management, Cardinal Stritch University—MN/WI. He enjoys writing commentaries on issues that are shaping the social, political, and economic destiny of Liberia and Africa.  He can be reached at mdsekou@yahoo.com or momohd@staff.browncollege.edu.