WE SAINTED HIM AND FORGOT TO LET HIM BE HUMAN.

(A TRIBUTE TO NELSON MANDELA(July 18 1918-Dec 5 2013))

Mandela is dead,and ah, its a black Friday for me because, when i
wrote a poem on his birthday this July like i had done every other
year on 18th,i was anticipating to do so next year and next year but
one, and the year following that, and maybe even the next after the
next...and ah,am also sadden because,now, i have only one great noble
men left on my leadership and governance list in Africa.i had
two,three;actually! even though i did not always agree with all of
Gaddafi's(may he R.I.P) ways and some of his outbursts,he was one of
'my' Leaders and  if Africa acted on some of his proposals,we would be
very far as a continent and United Nations and every other so called
Super Power Organization wouldn't undermine Us every time we talk;(or
bark; as we often claimed to do)and we would have so much to bargain
on and offer, on the negotiation table.
Anyway,back to the point.So, Mandela is gone,and not the gone of' will
come tomorrow' but totally gone,as in,Dead!the leader whose life has
always been a lesson for and to me in every way; with the most simple,
to the most complex deeds he has ever done is no more.

When you have a life in which you are the boss,you in control of,you
get to choose what you want, how you want it and, how you gonna get
whatever it is you want  from it without as much as a hassle,you
know,a life in which you have plenty of choices at your disposal and
you get to choose the course of your life or your own destiny,you
might not really value freedom or its cost.But, whenever i think of
Mandela and his fight,his struggle; for his people's and Nation's
freedom,i get inspired but mostly,i get very very sad.Yes! he won the
fight,he won the battle,but i always feel like he lost his!the victory
was never really his.like a dedicated captain,he guided his ship and
passengers safely home but he never alighted from the deck.he won
freedom for his Nation, Nations,and for thousands and millions of
people,but on the contrary,he lost his freedom the very first day he
joined the struggle, and he never  really re-possessed it  27 years
later after being released from Robben Island Prison.

Mandela lost his freedom and the right to freedom for the life he had
always dreamed of as a young boy growing up in Mvezo. He lost freedom
for the life he had probably planned or anticipated when he was going
to college to train as a lawyer.he lost his freedom to life as you and
i know it; he lost his freedom of life's most simple joys,tastes and
pleasures; like being an all time father,an all time husband,an
everyday person.His life became larger than him and to live up to
it,to live up to his name and to peoples demands,expectations,hopes
and even opinions,he had to forfeit himself and become a god. and
sometime i wonder if, despite his achievements and accomplishments,i
wonder if he was ever happy,i wonder if beneath that beautiful smile
was a well concealed emptiness and probably even bitterness.
Mandela probably never had time to take his girlfriend to the movies,
or walk barefoot on the beach at night serenaded by the stars,i bet he
never had a lazy weekend just sleeping in like you and i.I guess he
never slept  on some wilderness or had time to go hiking or ride a
bike just to unwind.He probably died not knowing most of his talents
or not being in touch with his inner self.because;we sainted him and
forgot to let him be human.

Mandela will always be among the most Noble and Greatest Men in this
lifetime and the next.Our kids,their kids and their kid's kids and
thousands of generations to come will read and meditate on his
legacy.But this man,this great man,this noble man,this beautiful and
wonderful man who so much fought for humanity with every fiber of his
being, never really got a taste of what it is or how it is to be
human.He lived  a life not for his sake but always for the next
person.His was an a customized life so well suited for everybody
Else's wants but never for his needs.Every minute on his clock,every
breath he took into his system,every thought that ever crossed his
mind,every sentence and every action he had to make or take,it was
never about about him or for him.it was always about another
child,another's  wife,another's brother or sister,another's mother and
father;always accounted for somebody else life.


Mandela's life  was always about giving, and giving and giving,and
unfortunately,like the bloody suckers that we are as a human race,we
became so much accustomed to taking from him that even in the end,
when he needed to rest,we refused to let him retire,we  wanted him to
be active, appear on public rallies,functions, give us another
speech,another picture ,another moment.and when it was clear we needed
to let him go,we still did not want him to die,we ran on the streets
and branded those who tried to advocate for his final moments in peace
as traitors.And now that he is gone,we will cry not so much for him
but for the loss,for our loss,the Nation loss,the loss to the
Continent, to the World!To what he would or could have done to and for
the Country,for the Leadership e.t.c.that he cannot do or wont do now
that he is gone.
It breaks my heart that even now that his soul is half-way to
Paradise,we are conducting interviews and talk-shows and quotes on all
he has done but i don't seem to hear anyone talk of what we gave him
or did for him or could have done or given him for his
selflessness.Well,maybe we will parade white carnations on every
corner of every street and sing of his glory for weeks and maybe
months,but i wonder if all that can measure up to all we took and
practically stole from him.For all that he gave and the little he ever
received!

Well,My teacher once told me,when i start to get too personal and
emotional on my subject,it was time to put a full stop on my
writing.so,i will take this opportunity to bid my Hero a fare thee
well and hope that in Heaven, his soul will find the peace and the
freedom he so utterly fought for here on earth but never really got to
know, feel or live up to its meaning or definition  personally.
Like you once said; ''when a man has done what he considers his duty to his people and his country,he can rest in peace.'' Madiba,may the Almighty God rest your soul in eternal peace.