Guardian World celebrates Mandela at 95 THURSDAY, 18 JULY 2013 22:19 FROM SAXONE AKHAINE (KADUNA), BOLA OLAJUWON AND TOBATOMBO BABAYEMI (LAGOS) (WITH AGENCY REPORT) NEWS - NATIONAL • Ban Ki-moon, Obama, Clinton, NLC pay tributes UNITED Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, United States (U.S.) President Barack Obama and Andrew Mlangeni, who was a prisoner alongside Nelson Mandela were part of global dignitaries that honoured the first South African black president at a special ceremony at the UN headquarters as he spent his 95th birthday in hospital on Thursday. Millions of other people around the world also joined in marking Mandela’s 95th birthday, gladdened by news that the hospitalised Nobel laureate was now able to smile and nod to visitors. In Nigeria, as labour leaders marked the 95th birthday in Kaduna, they urged the National Assembly to return Nigeria to the path of true democracy by ensuring that the crisis in Rivers State was resolved. They also urged the retention of labour matters on the exclusive list in the proposed constitutional amendment. The labour chiefs who led several of their members in a jogging exercise at the Murtala Square and later within Kaduna metropolis as early as 7.00 a.m. yesterday, in honour of Mandela’s 95th birthday, lamented the attitude of Nigerian political leaders, saying that they needed to learn from the selfless and patriotic leadership style of Mandela in transforming Nigeria to a greater country. The Vice President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Issa Aremu who later spoke to the union members at the NLC Secretariat in Kaduna, said that “there is a lot of lessons for our leaders to learn from the statesmanship of Mandela and his virtues”, adding that the political crisis in Rivers State and other disputes by leaders in Nigeria “are not all about how to develop the economy and move the country forward, rather, they are all about positioning for 2015 presidency and other selfish moves.” Agency reports indicated that messages of support also poured in even from astronauts on the International Space Station, to mark the anniversary, which many feared Mandela would not live to see. Obama, who was unable to visit Mandela during his trip to South Africa last month, led tributes to the peace icon, calling on people to honour him through volunteer work. “Our family was deeply moved by our visit to Madiba’s former cell on Robben Island during our recent trip. “We will forever draw strength and inspiration from his extraordinary example of moral courage, kindness, and humility. “His legacy of courage, perseverance and magnanimity will continue to inspire us – and people throughout the world – for generations to come,” Obama said in a statement. Other well-wishers included the Dalai Lama, wife of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Hillary, U.S. actor Morgan Freeman and Mandela’s former jailer, who went on to share the Nobel Peace Prize with him, F.W. de Klerk. “Mandela’s place in South Africa’s history is assured,” de Klerk said in a statement. Speaking at the UN event, Clinton said Mandela feared and hated his apartheid jailers when he left prison but overcoming that “demon” was a sign of his greatness. The U.S. former president said Mandela ended his 27 years in an apartheid jail “a greater man than he went in” but also told how the ordeal had left its mark on the legendary figure. “Every day was a struggle; I could see it in his eyes even after he became president. Some old demon would rise up and somebody would say something stupid, but he fought it every day,” Clinton said at the UN General Assembly. Clinton told how he had raised with Mandela the issue of his walk to freedom from the jail along a dirty road and how he had been a “canny politician” inviting his jailer to his inauguration and bringing white opposition parties into his government. “Tell me the truth: when you were walking down the road that last time, didn’t you hate them?” Clinton said he questioned Mandela. “He said briefly: ‘I did. I am old enough to tell the truth.’ He said: ‘I felt hatred and fear but I said to myself, if you hate them when you get in that car, you will still be their prisoner. I wanted to be free and so I let it go.’ “He said: ‘People can take everything from you. I lost my family, the chance to see my children grow up, the best years of my life. They can take everything except your mind and your heart. Those things I decided not to give away. He looked at me and smiled and said: neither should you. That is a lesson that every human being on earth had better learn sooner or later. The grace of it embraces every friend that he had.” Ban said the world was united in praying for Mandela in hospital. “We are united in concern. We are also joined in admiration for a towering figure in the worldwide fight for equality and justice,” the UN secretary-general told the ceremony. Meanwhile, after six weeks of intensive hospital treatment, Ndileka Mandela told Agence France Presse (AFP) that her grandfather was “steadily improving” and “using his eyes, nodding.” That message was echoed by President Jacob Zuma who visited his predecessor’s Pretoria bedside and “found him really stable and I was able to say ‘happy birthday’ and he was able to smile.” That is a dramatic turnaround for the ailing peace icon, who just weeks ago was thought to be close to death. Mandela was rushed to hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection that had already put him in hospital three times in less than a year. Outside the Pretoria facility which has been the focal point of a national vigil for the last 41 days, there were joyous scenes. Revellers sang anti-apartheid struggle songs; school children read poems dedicated to a man nearing the end of his long walk that took him from political prisoner to South Africa’s first black president. “Tata (father) Mandela has once again proved that he is a fighter,” said well-wisher Agnes Shilowane, a local university student. Yesterday’s news was a relief elsewhere in the country to South Africans who marked Mandela Day with a panoply of good deeds. Biker gangs cleaned streets, volunteers painted schools and politicians spent 67 minutes on worthy projects - all to mark Mandela’s 67 years of public service. Near Pretoria, Zuma tried to channel Mandela’s cross-community appeal by delivering government housing to poor whites. The Mandela family also did their bit, with his grandchildren volunteering at a children’s home. They were then expected to gather at the hospital for lunch, along with Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, who also celebrates 15 years of marriage to her husband today. “We’re doing our 67 minutes and bringing our old clothes that we’re not using anymore. Then we’ll converge on the hospital to have lunch with grand-dad,” Mandela’s grand-daughter Ndileka said. She said the birthday meal would include Mandela’s favourite food, including “oxtail, prawns, dumplings and vegetables”. Another grand-daughter, Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway, distributed food at a school. The UN declared the Nobel Peace laureate’s birthday Mandela Day in 2010, but for many this year, it takes on extra poignancy. In central Lisbon the Don Pedro IV Square was to be renamed Nelson Mandela Square, and an open-air Mandela-themed opera concert was planned in Paris. On Saturday, the Australian city of Melbourne will hold a concert featuring local and African artists.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:41:38 +0000
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