CRYING MORE THAN THE BEREAVED AND THE FOLLY OF A PEOPLE
I just read a presidential adviser's tweets on the memorial service
for Madiba at Aso Chapel.
And I started wondering whether the man has been buried without the
knowledge of the press.
How does one conduct a memorial service when the good old man hasn't
even been buried?
What is the haste? And what direct impact did the life and death of
Mandela have on us as a nation?
Everyone is shouting, weeping and mourning the loss of Madiba.
Both those who know so much about him and others who know next to
nothing about him.
Both members of his immediate family and country people as well as
strangers in government in my country who see his demise as an
opportunity to loot.
I make bold to ask those who now love Mandela more than his own kith and kin:
WHAT IS MANDELA TO YOU?
WHO IS HE TO YOU?
AND WHAT ABOUT HIS 95-YEAR LONG LIFE AFFECTS YOUR LIFE MOST?
These questions have become pertinent because we seem to be crying
more than the bereaved here!
Let's not hide under sentiments here: of what use was Mandela to us as
a nation whether dead or alive?
For his country, he is a hero.
A man who sacrificed his entire life for his nation.
Even his marriage suffered because of the love he had for his country.
Children of South Africa, no matter their race, have someone they can
be taught about;
A role model of national unity, forgiveness, reconciliation and honesty.
A man they can proudly look up to and cherish as the father of their nation.
But for those of us crying, holding memorial services and showing
unsolicited sympathy;
What is Mandela to you?
And what have you done to replicate his love for his nation in your own domain?
Seriously, I made a list of every Nigerian in public life and tried to
narrow it down to people whose death with elicit a national mourning
like Mandela's.
Not surprisingly, all the names were eliminated.
None of the over one thousand names survived.
An indication that those who are now mourning Mandela have failed to
imbibe his virtues.
I am sure Madiba will be turning in his grave.
Let me give an instance of the kind of folly we are talking about here:
The day after Madiba died, a former president addressed the press in
his mansion.
He said that he personally went to ask Madiba to run for a second term
And the man asked him to tell him any country in the world that is
being led by an 80 year old.
Yet this same man came back to his country and tried fruitlessly to
unconstitutionally get a third term.
An indication that he would have thought Madiba to be a fool.
I wonder how many ex-leaders of other lands that will address the
press when he dies.
Everybody will die someday.
For those mourning Mandela more than his family,
Who will feel bad when you die??
It is the kind of life you choose to live now that will determine.
Remember, for a country as divided as Nigeria, when your tribe or
religious group alone mourns you
It is not enough
Madiba is being mourned by whites, blacks, coloured, Indians and you
Who will mourn you when you die?
for Madiba at Aso Chapel.
And I started wondering whether the man has been buried without the
knowledge of the press.
How does one conduct a memorial service when the good old man hasn't
even been buried?
What is the haste? And what direct impact did the life and death of
Mandela have on us as a nation?
Everyone is shouting, weeping and mourning the loss of Madiba.
Both those who know so much about him and others who know next to
nothing about him.
Both members of his immediate family and country people as well as
strangers in government in my country who see his demise as an
opportunity to loot.
I make bold to ask those who now love Mandela more than his own kith and kin:
WHAT IS MANDELA TO YOU?
WHO IS HE TO YOU?
AND WHAT ABOUT HIS 95-YEAR LONG LIFE AFFECTS YOUR LIFE MOST?
These questions have become pertinent because we seem to be crying
more than the bereaved here!
Let's not hide under sentiments here: of what use was Mandela to us as
a nation whether dead or alive?
For his country, he is a hero.
A man who sacrificed his entire life for his nation.
Even his marriage suffered because of the love he had for his country.
Children of South Africa, no matter their race, have someone they can
be taught about;
A role model of national unity, forgiveness, reconciliation and honesty.
A man they can proudly look up to and cherish as the father of their nation.
But for those of us crying, holding memorial services and showing
unsolicited sympathy;
What is Mandela to you?
And what have you done to replicate his love for his nation in your own domain?
Seriously, I made a list of every Nigerian in public life and tried to
narrow it down to people whose death with elicit a national mourning
like Mandela's.
Not surprisingly, all the names were eliminated.
None of the over one thousand names survived.
An indication that those who are now mourning Mandela have failed to
imbibe his virtues.
I am sure Madiba will be turning in his grave.
Let me give an instance of the kind of folly we are talking about here:
The day after Madiba died, a former president addressed the press in
his mansion.
He said that he personally went to ask Madiba to run for a second term
And the man asked him to tell him any country in the world that is
being led by an 80 year old.
Yet this same man came back to his country and tried fruitlessly to
unconstitutionally get a third term.
An indication that he would have thought Madiba to be a fool.
I wonder how many ex-leaders of other lands that will address the
press when he dies.
Everybody will die someday.
For those mourning Mandela more than his family,
Who will feel bad when you die??
It is the kind of life you choose to live now that will determine.
Remember, for a country as divided as Nigeria, when your tribe or
religious group alone mourns you
It is not enough
Madiba is being mourned by whites, blacks, coloured, Indians and you
Who will mourn you when you die?
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