Nelson Mandela: Unto us a child was born a century ago

By Owei Lakemfa

NELSON Mandela, whose birth centenary the world marked this Wednesday, July 18, was a mortal. However, in a fractious world governed by class, racial, religious, regional, gender and numeorus other cleavages, it is almost impossible to find a person who is generally accepted by all as a hero and legend. This is the basis of    Mandela’s legacy.

This legacy was built on six broad pillars. First, he was born into colonial South Africa which degenerated further into the Apartheid system. The struggle to decolonise, defeat Apartheid  and allow the people exercise their fundamental human rights, threw up Mandela. He believed that : “To deny people their human rights is to deny their very humanity.” His philosophy was  that: “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”  So he…