How do you define Nelson Mandela?
It is only when you do so that you are able to answer the question whether Nigerian Mandela is possible. Nelson Rolihlalala Mandela, the first president of democratic South Africa finally bowed to the superior argument of death as all mortals must last week Thursday, December 5, 2013. He was renowned for so many inspiring statements and speeches both before and after he went to jail, came out, climbed into the presidency and bequeathed a stable and prosperous country to posterity.

Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in apartheid jails in 1990 pledging to seize South Africa’s mines and banks. Four years later, his government slashed spending and courted foreign investors, paving the way for the longest period of growth in the country’s history.

LAGOS—The global celebration of the demise of South Africa’s political sage, Dr. Nelson Mandela, has been described by the deputy chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Annie Okonkwo, as a fitting tribute to a universal icon and exceptional pan-Africanist.

President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, paid tribute to anti-Apartheid icon, Dr. Nelson Mandela who died last Thursday, saying Nigerian politicians could not be compared with him as they threaten, boast and play little gods.

DIDIER Drogba and Emmanuel Eboue face fines from the Turkish FA after displaying vests bearing tributes to Nelson Mandela.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday urged politicians to emulate the Late Dr Nelson Mandela’s politics of humility, peace and reconciliation as against that of bitterness and character assassination.

President Goodluck Jonathan will leave Abuja this evening to join other world leaders in South Africa at events leading up to the burial of former President Nelson Mandela.

The leader of the world’s Anglicans, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, paid tribute to Nelson Mandela’s courage on Sunday at a special church service for the anti-apartheid icon in London.

According to the Madiba, Nelson Mandela: “There is one regret that I have had all my life – that I never become the heavy weight boxing champion of the world.”

A funeral cortege bearing Nelson Mandela’s body will travel through the streets of Pretoria daily on three days before his burial next Sunday, the South African government says.

Mandela: Soweto’s sorrow

By Kayode Fayemi The passing of Nelson Mandela after his prolonged hospitalisation should not be a cause for sadness on any account. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and offer our prayers for them and for the people of South Africa. But we also recognize that his passing at the ripe old age […]

It was a death not foretold but largely expected, leaving in its trail an outpouring of uncommon tributes from hitherto known friends, foes, dissidents, antagonists, protagonists and perhaps loners speaking with one voice. But that is one of the many surprising ironies of life, international diplomacy and gesture.

While these could be regarded as the ironic reality of Nelson Mandela’s demise, it vividly captures the sheer hypocrisy which global leaders use in achieving political objectives.

By Jide Ajani It was a visit that evoked emotions of many kinds. It was also a visit to one of the most popular prison facilities in the world – Robben Island Prison. And one of the inmates who made the prison to attract global attention was prisoner 466/64, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.  Mandela, referred to […]

In Nelson Mandela’s childhood village of Qunu residents are solemnly preparing for the final return of their beloved son, who will be laid to rest among them a week from now.

Elderly men in the picturesque village dotted with traditional round huts bow their heads and lower their voices when they speak of the anti-apartheid hero who has “returned to his ancestors”.