People in Nigeria have been paying tributes to Nelson Mandela ever since the confirmation of his death. Tens of thousands attended churches and other places of worship across the country last Sunday. World leaders have travelled to South Africa to pay tributes to the late leader and fighter.
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has declared three days of national mourning to commemorate the former South African leader. Here, he shares his views on what other African leaders could learn from his legacy.
Scroll down to watch the video
"Some of the greatest problems we have in Africa is for us who are leaders to begin to think that the countries we are leading, where we happen to be elected, to govern are our own personal estates. Mandela never saw South Africa as Mandela’s personal estate. He saw South Africa as a state, and he was just privileged to see to the affairs of the state.
"If leaders begin to see their countries as not their own property, but [something that] is dear to everybody. And [if] the country progresses, everybody will be O.K., and the future generation will be O.K.. Because that is the beginning of the great transformation in Africa. "
President Jonathan says African leaders must learn to demonstrate Mandela's traits to fix crises at home.
"Next, Mandela demonstrated clearly that the leader must be patient. The leader must have the forgiving spirit, the leader must bring peace, the leader must make sure that the people are united."
And he had this to say about how ordinary people should remember Mandela:
"What [every] South African, Nigerian and African, and anybody, what we can all do is to make sure that we all fight against the vices that Mandela fought [against]. Mandela fought against oppression. If we still continue with this discrimination against people, then, of course, we have no reason to celebrate Mandela."Watch the video below:
No comments:
Post a Comment