The Leader in Nelson Mandela Essay

After South Africa's independence, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the first African president of the country. He was born in the Xhosa tribe of South Africa on the 18th of July 1918 and lived on earth until the 5th of December 2013. Mandela is widely known as a political leader, revolutionary (led a revolution against the apartheid era in South Africa), and also as a philanthropist. Mandela's history and the life he led saw him become one of the most influential leaders in the world. He was born to a royal family which was known as Thembu in Mvezo, South Africa. Mandela, (1994) says in his book that he was born in a family of three (he had two sisters) together with his mother. His father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, had four wives, four sons, and nine daughters. Gadla served as the area chief of his locality and also as an advisor to the Monarch.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

During his childhood, Mandela loved to deal with legal issues, and this passion made him pursue law at the University of Witwatersrand and was later employed to work as a lawyer in Johannesburg. Boehmer, (2008), says that Mandela nurtured the image of a real "African Gentleman." He maintained ironed clothes, correct demeanors and had a moderated public speech. These traits translate to the definition of an African gentleman. During his working period in Johannesburg, he involved himself with anti-colonial political affairs. This made him join the ANC in 1943. When the National Part formed apartheid, Nelson and his members in ANC swore to fight against the apartheid regime. In 1952 Mandela was elected the president of ANC, and therefore he participated in the defiance campaign. This made him well known. In 1955 he got involved in the Congress of people. Mandela was repeatedly arrested but wasn't executed in the 1956 treason trial. Karl Marx's work influenced Mandela, and this made him to secretly join the South African Communist Party (SACP), which was banned during that time.

Together with the SACP, Mandela formed an army which they named Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1961 with which they directed a disruption movement against the administration. During this time, he remained captured in 1962 and was given a life sentence for trying to take over the government. Mandela served his term partly on Robben Island, Victor Verster Prison and partly on Pollsmoor Prison. Mandela was in Robben Island from 1964 - 1982. He was secluded from other prisoners and stayed in a damp cell. He only had a straw mat, where he could sleep. At Pollsmoor prison (1982-1988) Mandela had better conditions as compared to Robben Island. Here, he was allowed to have a roof garden, and he would study more. He was also allowed to have up to 52 letters a year. He was transferred to Victor Verster Prison in 1988 where he served his sentence till his release in 1990. After serving 27 years in prison, he was freed by President F.W. de Klerk in the year 1990 as a result of the protests of people around the world which led to fears of racial war.

Mandela and de Klerk tried to work together to end apartheid, and this resulted in a general election where every eligible citizen of South Africa, regardless of the race, participated. Mandela won the election under the ANC ticket and became the first African president of South Africa. He was not a vengeful person, and despite the suffering, he had gone through under the white leadership, he advocated for reconciliation among the blacks and the whites in South Africa. This saw him create the Truth and Reconciliation Commission whose primary purpose was to investigate past abuses of Human Rights.

Mandela maintained the liberal framework that was there before despite being that his style of leadership was majorly concentrated on socialism. He also came up with measures that encouraged land reforms, fighting poverty, and expanding healthcare services. He was internationally recognized, and he was a moderator in the Pan Am Flight Bombing trial. He also assisted as the clerk of the Non-Aligned Movement starting the year 1998 to 1999.

Glad & Blanton, (1997) considered Mandela, a charismatic leader. This is true because everyone wanted Mandela to serve for another term as the president of South Africa. Despite all the pressure from his people, he refused to serve a second term as the president of South Africa in 1999, and therefore his Deputy took over. This showed that, unlike other African presidents, Mandela was not hungry for power and money. He also proved this by not being corrupt like other leaders whose primary interest was to accumulate as much wealth as possible during their terms of service. Glad & Blanton, (1997) also considered him a "brilliant, shrewd, and loyal leader." This is true and correct as he served his people with the dignity and integrity of a true leader of those qualities.

Meredith, (2010), shows how Nelson Mandela practiced philanthropy as an elder statesman who stayed focused on helping the community during his retirement. He did this by fighting poverty and HIV/AIDs in the land through benevolent organizations like the Nelson Mandela Foundation. In 2003 he started the Mandela Rhodes Foundation at Rhode House, the Oxford University, which was aimed at providing scholarships to postgraduate African students. During this time, Mandela was also focused on helping the world to stay peaceful. This he did by criticizing some moves by world super economies like the USA and Britain. For instance, Murphy's, (30 January 2003) quoted Mandela in his news article saying "All that (Mr. Bush) wants is Iraqi oil." This is this was when the then president of USA, George W. Bush was planning to launch an attack on Iraq. In 2004, Mandela had become old enough (aged 85) and had difficulties with his health status. He declared that he was "retiring from retirement" and therefore he wanted to keep off the public scenes. With this, he said, "Don't call me; I will call you." (Meredith, 2010)

During his life, he had been much of a controversial figure, and many people had different reactions to his course. Some even referred to him as a communist terrorist. Mandela became internationally recognized as an activist. People regarded him as a democratic leader and ambassador of social justice. With this worldwide recognition, he was awarded more than 250 honors which included a Nobel Peace Prize.

Despite Mandela's great achievements, some people regard him as a failure. Takudzwa (2017), records some people claiming Mandela to be a letdown. In this article, Winnie expressed the London Evening Standard, "Mandela has let us down. He agreed to a bad deal for the blacks. Economically, we are still on the outside. The economy is very much 'white.' It has a few token blacks, but so many who gave their lives in the struggle have died unrewarded".

Mandela proved to the world that he was a true leader despite all the challenges he passed through. He would make tough decisions for the good of the people under his leadership. Sometimes he sacrificed his comfort for his people. His continued service to the nation and the whole world after his retirement showed his right leadership qualities. With this, he showed people that, it is not the position one holds that makes them a leader.

References

Boehmer, (2008). Nelson Mandela: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280301-6 Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gHkRDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP10&dq=Boehmer,+(2008).+Nelson+Mandela:+A+Very+Short+Introduction.+Oxford:+Oxford+University+press.+ISBN+978-0-19-280301-6&ots=n8wbFgod5f&sig=JnNSMsh2KXX4P8pqA7Qy_YoNZc4

Glad, B; Blanton, R., (1997). F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela: A Study in Cooperative Transformational Leadership. Presidential Studies Quarterly. 27 (3): 565-590. JSTOR 27551769 Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551769

Mandela, N. (1994). Long Walk to Freedom Volume 1: 1918-1962. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-7540-8723-6

Meredith, M. (2010). Mandela: A Biography. New York: Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-832-1 Retrieved from https://howlingpixel.com/i-en/Miriam_Makeba

Murphy, J. (3o January 2003). "Mandela Slams Bush on Iraq." CBS News. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2013. Retrieved from http://www.sorunpolemik.com/SP/593/sur_la_r%C3%A9sistance_h%C3%A9roique_de_nelson_mandela/

Takudzwa, H. C. (September 2017). How Nelson Mandela failed black South Africans economically. Retrieved from https://www.blakkpepper.com/2017/09/how-nelson-mandela-failed-black-south-africans-economically/