Mandela lived accomplished life for Africans — Prez Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama Wednesday stated that it was a humbling experience to walk past the body of President Nelson Mandela who lived an accomplished and selfless life for all Africans.
Advertisement
"This experience demonstrates to African leaders not to pay lip-service to his ideals but learn from his principles and perseverance that took him to those levels before his death," he said.
President Mahama, who was speaking to journalists after he had filed past Mandela’s body at the Union Building in Pretoria, said Mandela believed in forgiveness, which should serve as a guiding principle for all African leaders.
He was accompanied by Ms Hannah Tetteh, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; Mr Mark Woyongo, the Defence Minister; Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress; Mr Larry Gbevlo Lartey, the National Security Coordinator, and Mr Lee Ocran, Ghana's former High Commissioner to South Africa.
A number of African leaders, including the Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; the Southern Sudanese President, Salva Kiir; a former South African President, Thabo Mbeki; former President Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana, President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, were also at the Union Building to pay their last respects to the late global icon.
Union Building renamed after Mandela
The Union Building where President Mandela’s body is currently lying in state will be renamed "The Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre” after his burial at his village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape.
Mandela’s death on Thursday, December 5, has attracted hundreds of mourners from all over the world to South Africa. He will be buried at Qunu, where he grew up, on December 15 to climax his funeral celebration.
President Mahama said he had learnt a lot from the late Mandela, especially his selfless and forgiving attitude, which the President said had won Mandela international recognition.
"We have learnt a lot from him, especially the beauty in forgiving even his bitterest enemies and the assertion that South Africa belonged to all those who lived in it, irrespective of their creed,” he added.
The President said Mandela's death symbolised shared roles in society, as knowledge was not reposed in only one single individual, and entreated everyone to play his or her part in the development of Africa.
"Mandela’s death marks the end of the long walk to freedom for South Africa. He has played his part and it is our time to also play our roles responsibly in society," President Mahama added. - GNA