Nelson Mandela - Research Paper Example

Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela is arguably the most legendary African Leader in the World today. His legacy will is renowned among the people of South Africa and even the entire world. Whenever hear the name Nelson Mandela, what comes to their mind is Apartheid regime and fight for freedom. Mandela has a numerous attribute besides being a freedom fighter. The life and contribution of this great world leader Nelson Mandela Madiba Rolihlahla are so inspiring that no one would afford to miss hearing. The history of Mandela begins from the time of his life at birth, youthful age, and education, social-political and economic life. Mandela was born on the July 18, 1918. His name Rolihlahla literally means, “pulling the branch of the tree.” He was brought up in the village of Mvezo near River Mbashe in the district of Umata, the capital of Transkei. His home village was Thembu. The name of his father was the great, Gadla Henry Mphanyiswa. Mphanyiswa was a great chief of the high, Thembu village. His father lost his wealth due to some “ox” disputes, under unclear circumstances. His mother decided to travel to a village of Qunu, located northern of Mvezo. While at Qunu, Mandela used to spend his leisure time playing and wrestling with other young boys in the village. He could spend the nights together with these same boys. He used to look after the herds at the age of five. He discovered the techniques of collecting honey, birds, and edible fruits. He enjoyed drinking milk straight from the udder of the cow. The life in the field was full of fun. Mandela was a creative and a critical in thought. He could make devices and play with them. He had a passion for the study of nature. He liked climbing the back of the donkey and molding animals and birds using clay soil. The village of Qunu had several churches. He attended church service for the first time when he during baptism. The religion became like a ritual to him. His mother attachment to the church was just incredible. The only times he could miss the Sunday services was when he could go to fight with other boys. He realized that the fighting was like a transgression and vowed never to commit again. Mandela later traveled to Johannesburg where he first reached the offices of Crown Mines in the year 1886.The Witwatersrand in South Africa by then was the largest gold mine. He was very much disappointed in what he saw in the mining place as opposed to his expectations. He thought he could find the mining places to have well-furnished offices but instead the place was underdeveloped. He noted all kinds of mistreatments the black Africans were facing under the leadership of the white men. He applied for a clerical job at the mining place and missed. He offered himself to work as the police guard at the mining site. He enjoyed his duty for sometimes. Natives became worthless people before their managers. They could get the worst treatment at their respective workplaces. They had the identification documents to use in making their ways in and out the working place. Education is the fundamental to the outside world. The best way to deal with injustices is to denounce ignorance in the strongest terms possible. Madiba started his elementary education and passed well standard v. the entire family celebrated and feasted the achievement of their son. He got admission to a school called Clarke bury. He received the gift a pair of shoe, which he loved most. The school he joined was famous for offering technical courses such as carpentry and tailoring. He later joined another school called Mqhekezweni. He had a lot of experience in school including interacting with the white races. He also learns to appreciate the structures in that school. It had equipped library and other instructional halls. The institution was likely to have belonged to the whites. The potential future leader, Mr. Mandela became enthusiasm when he got an opportunity for the first time to shake the hands of a white man, Reverend Harris. He loved it! Mr. Harris could occasionally assign him some task in the garden. The Mandela as a student was a slow learner of which he openly admitted most of the time. He used to take his studies seriously and do a tedious revision to evade any form of failures. He not only worked hard to please his teacher Mr. Harris but also his family back at home. Within a short period, he coped up with the learning environment and could easily socialize across all genders. He participated in curriculum activities and performed excellently. He was an average student in class work. He played soccer and lawn tennis. A time came when Africans could also acquire bachelor degrees. In his school, some black teachers were graduates. He used to admire the character of his teacher, Mr. Mahlasela who would walk into the reverends office with all courage, and sometimes would even fail to remove his hat! Removal of hats when talking to a white was a sign of respect for them. He used to reason with the Reverend on comparable terms, agreeing and disagreeing on facts. Other people only assent to his sentiments. He loved Reverend Harris, but he respected the fact that Mr. Mahlasela would not be intimidated what so ever way. The inspiration to form a movement by the name Africa National Congress got a motivation when one of his teacher Mr. Victor Mbobo. The great Mbobo was a teacher at Healdtown. Mandela life in prison He later joined the University of Fort Harare in 1938. In around 1952, Mandela practiced, and his friend Oliver Tambo was the first black African to exercise law. Madiba advocated for freedom and equality to all people living in South Africa. He organized several demos from Cape Town to Johannesburg, from west to eat. Mr. Mandela played a critical role formation A.N.C. Youth League that became a mass movement. Youths replaced the older members and drafted a manifesto in line with pan-African nationalism. In 1948, the movement became so radical and waged a direct attack on Apartheid regime, which was an oppressor to blacks living in the country1. The apartheid regime arrested Mandela on treason in the year 1956. Two years later, while still the prison, he got married to his beloved wife Nomzamo Winifred Madkizel. She gave birth to two beautiful daughters. He came out of the bars the year 1961. The same year, he organized A.N.C. leaders to form a military wing by the name Umkhonto we sizwe, or simply, Spear of the Nation. He trained military skills, soliciting weapons for the group to the attack the apartheid government. Mr. Mandela rearrested one year later for leaving out the country illegally and sentenced to five years jail term. The Government then raided ANC camp at Revona. The government found materials relating to guerrilla war fair at the ANC headquarters and charged Mandela for an attempt to overthrow the government. Mandela served for eighteen years in prison from 1964 at Robben Island prison off Cape Town. The colonial government feared that Mandela could merge with other senior prisoners and cause a commotion in the cell. This lead to a declaration of an order for a fourth will transfer of Mandela to Victor Vester Farm. He colluded with prison leaders and some government officials who were his sympathizers to trigger strikes nationwide. The plans succeed, and the country became ungovernable. The government promised to release him but all in vain. Mr. Mandela attained his eventual freedom in the year 1990. He worked tirelessly to change the constitution so that Africans could also have a fair and equal chance to lead the country. ANC drop guerrilla war. He managed to amend the constitution and made it a democratic in nature. A.N.C held the election in 1994, and Nelson Mandela Madiba Rolihlahla became the first black president of South Africa. He promised to institute reforms in the country during his speech2. During his tenure in the office of the president, he promoted cultures through sponsoring such activities. He championed sports through drafting legislative to facilitate the gaming exercise. South Africa is one of the in playing Rugby. For instance, President Mandela gave sponsorship to Rugby in the year1995. His primary intention was to unite and reconcile the divided citizens of his country as expressed in his letter to President De Klerk3. The country had perhaps the worst racial segregation in Africa. He managed to bring the country together. He created several job opportunity for his people as that was his priority in the manifesto. He introduced better laws that shaped the mining activities thus improving remunerations and the working environment. He improved the face of the infrastructure such roads and stadia. He became the first African leader to retire peacefully and hand over power to his successor, contrary to conventional occurrence in most African countries. Thabo Mbeki became the second president of South Africa. Mandela because less available to the public by 2004 due to his aging and health problems. He reappeared in 2010 during the FIFA World Cup Held in South Africa. The current president of South Africa, Dr. Jacob Zuma announced the death of Mandela on December 8, 2013. Even at death, Mandela’s legacy remains celebrated by diverse people throughout the world. Bibliography Mandela, Nelson. Mandelas Inaugural Speech. Council on Foreign Relations. May 10, 1994. web. April 12, 2015. http://www.cfr.org/south-africa/mandelas-inaugural-speech-may-1994/p31036 Editor. Oprah Talks to Nelson Mandela. The Oprah Magazine. April 2001. web. April 12, 2015 http://www.oprah.com/world/Oprah-Interviews-Nelson-Mandela#ixzz3X3gSxvUz Mandela, Nelson. Letter from Nelson Mandela to F.W. De Klerk: State President of the Republic of South Africa. African National Congress. July 9, 1992. web. April 12, 2015. http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=4141 Read More