MADIBA: S’Africans Observe National Day Of Prayers

• We’ve Lost Our Beloved Leader, Inspiration, By Nelson Mandela Institution

As South African President, Jacob Zuma, declared Sunday (today), December 8, 2013 as national day of prayers and reflection, the Nelson Mandela Institution (NMI) has joined global leaders to mourn the passing away of its founding father, Nelson Mandela.

    In a statement signed by the Chairperson of the Board of the Nelson Mandela Institution, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the institution, yesterday, said that Nelson Mandela had inspired its vision.

   “The vision is to promote knowledge building and the advancement of Science and Technology in Africa. It was inspired by Nelson Mandela’s vision of the key role that science and technology needs to play in the sustainable development of Africa,” Okonjo- Iweala, who is also Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, said. 

    This vision, according to the NMI reflects Mandela’s life-long “passion for education and his penetrating insight into the needs of the African continent.”

  The Minister noted that “Mandela’s life provides us with a clear example of how Africa can overcome its challenges to achieve true greatness and freedom through knowledge. 

   “His strong belief in the power of education and the development of the human mind, and, beyond that, the promotion of fundamental human values that he embodied will continue to guide us. For us, the family of NMI, AUST, 2iE and NM-AIST Arusha, we have lost our beloved leader and inspiration.”

     “We are resolved and committed to continue to do all we can to make his vision come true for the benefit of the whole of Africa and the World. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and the South African People. We are with them in spirit during this difficult period for them,” she said.

 President Jacob Zuma had told reporters in Johannesburg on Friday that today, would be a national day of prayer and reflection.            

   “We call upon all our people to gather in halls, churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and in their homes for prayer services and meditation, reflecting on the life of Madiba and his contribution to our country and the world,” he said.

      An official memorial service would be held on Tuesday, December 10, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

    “From 11 to 13 December, the remains of our beloved Madiba will lie in state at the seat of government, the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where he served as the first president of this young democracy,” Zuma said.  

   “During these days, official memorial services will also be held in all provinces and regions.”  Mandela’s state funeral would be held on December 15, in Qunu.

  “We should all work together to organise the most befitting funeral for this outstanding son of our country and the father of our young nation,” Zuma said.

   Like snow flakes, flowers, lit candles, and other forms of garlands have continued to make a loud statement in the celebration of a life well-lived as the world looks forward to an iconic funeral for the departed Nelson Mandela next Sunday.

    The late Mandela was a great man in all known rights. Yet he was very childlike. Firm as the finest steel yet human and harmless like a child.

   And so, it was not surprising that Children have become visible in the effusive show of love to the departed African moral icon, who was easily one of the world’s most respected statesmen. 

   Children carrying posters were seen since Friday through yesterday via satellite Tv, slowly marching up and down Vilakazi Street, where Mandela’s Soweto home is. Others stood outside his old house, now turned into a museum. Such is the influence of the man. Such is his renown! 

   South Africans continue to gather in Johannesburg and Soweto to mourn the father of their nation who died on Thursday aged 95. Crowds paid tribute, dancing and singing in front of Madiba’s former home in Soweto throughout the nights.

    Mandela had lived in Vilakazi Street in the 1940s and 1950s. He spent 27 years in jail before becoming South Africa’s first black president in 1994. Flags flew at half-mast after President Jacob Zuma announced his death in a late night national TV address. His administration replaced the racist white-minority regime that had enforced segregation of black and white people in a policy known as apartheid.

    Across the world, leaders, celebrities and members of the public have been paying tribute.

  One of them was Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis who said he had forged “a new South Africa built on the firm foundations of non-violence, reconciliation and truth.

   “I pray that the late president’s example will inspire generations of South Africans to put justice and the common good at the forefront of their political aspirations,” he added.

    All through yesterday, South Africans mourned Nelson Mandela through songs of struggle and church hymns. One of the songs is “Nelson Mandela ha hona ea tshwanang le yena” which in Sotho means there is no one like Nelson Mandela. This song and many others like it encapsulate the deep sense of loss in the rainbow country and the realization that his passing marks the end of an era.

   Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 along with FW de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president. Remarkably, De Klerk, who ordered Mandela’s release from jail, called him a “unifier” and said he had “a remarkable lack of bitterness”

   

As was widely expected, condolence registers have since been opened at public buildings in South Africa and at the country’s embassies throughout the world. The period of mourning is expected to last 10 days hence a grand funeral is being planned for him for midday 15th December according to Thembu royal tradition.