A round of applause

10th December 2013

A round of applause

Photo by: UN

Africa 2.0 joins the International Community in bidding farewell and paying tribute to one of the greatest leaders of all times; Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. In celebrating this African Legend’s legacy, we propose to pay a different kind of tribute and invite you to -
Mobilize your respective organizations to assemble and give a minute round of applause in addition to a minute of silence in order to celebrate his achievements. How about uploading your tributes on social media with the hash tag #4madiba ?
Commit to carry his legacy forward as the best possible way of honoring him and his wishes.
The following quotes by Madiba put his wishes and the said requests into perspective -

“I dream of the realization of the Unity of Africa whereby its leaders combine their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our forests, our deserts, and our wilderness".

"A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without a vision is drudgery. A vision with a task is the hope of Africa"

"It's in our hands".

When looking closer at these 3 quotes one can easily read between the lines and decode that Madiba gave us clues on what needs to be done when he is gone?

More than the Father of a nation, Madiba is one of those rare timeless leaders who put  humanity back on its throne in the name of love, peace and harmony. His inspiration laid the foundation for a level playing field where each individual could emancipate and enjoy the freedom to achieve their greatest potential regardless of race, culture and religion.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela reminded all of us of the importance and value of the words forgiveness and compassion. He simultaneously helped us realize that freedom is a concept that obstinately looks forward.

Now that we free, what are we going to do with it? Now that African nations have independence what are they going to do with it? Where should our civilization's fresh acceptance of a rainbow planet take humanity next?

What if Madiba gave us the keys to the post Madiba era way before he left this world?

History has proven that there are only two ways to unite a people: either through a common enemy or a common goal. Before leaving us, Tata gave us a hint by sharing one of his dearest dreams; A United Africa where leaders work together,  he  pointed us to where and what to focus on. He reminds us that we are One and shall effectively materialize such unity. Our Oneness should supersede all superficial differences that history and society have scarfed our fragile memories with.

So wouldn't his directive and directions be to leave tribalism behind and head towards the Tribe of One?

Now that we know where to go, the next question that would come to mind is how to get there. In disclosing his precious wisdom under the precept that "a Vision with a Task is the Hope for Africa", Tata gave us the "How".

We need a Vision and should resolve to design an action plan (a task) to achieve it. We should apply our minds and deeds to the Task and like Madiba, we should never give up. We should arm ourselves with patience and determination and endeavor to see each obstacle as a trial that will enable us to grow stronger along the tortuous and challenging path ahead. Our Task is tedious, our Task is stubborn. All tedious tasks teach us our weaknesses and bring us closer to our higher self. Only our higher self can approach and achieve a Great Vision leading to human progress.

Then comes the question of who should or can do this?  Who can claim to have the charisma and determination of Mandela to achieve something of this magnitude?

Here again, Tata provides us with a clear answer. He says "it's in our hands". He did not say it's in his hands. He unveiled the power that lies within each of us to make a difference.
Referring to Jay Naidoo's comment about his son's quote, "we should not search for the next Mandela, but should rather seek for the Mandela within each of us".

By saying it's in our hands, Madiba also highlighted what we can do as a collective. Note that "in our hands" is plural: Here again comes the symbol that our togetherness, our Ubuntu can help us achieve things greater than life.

For sure from the better skies where he is now, the shepherd from the Eastern Cape is certainly looking at us and saying "Now it's in your hands".

Interesting to see that Madiba did not mean anything else than "We are the ones we have been waiting for".

So let's just do it!

Regards
Africa 2.0 Team