Get off Mbeki's back! - Thought Leader

On Friday I watched a ton of tourists taking pictures of Madiba’s statue in Sandton City: an imposing tribute to the man British columnist John Carlin calls “the president of humanity”.

I may also have noticed one or two stunning blondes but that was only because they were walking between me and the amateur photographers.

Of course celebrating our former president Nelson Mandela is not a purely South African phenomenon. It goes on around the world. Britain, last week, unveiled its own statue in Parliament Square, London.

What makes Madiba great?

As a South African, regardless of your race, creed or colour, if you read the article by Paul Valley that appeared in the Independent on Sunday, you’ll understand why.

His capacity to forgive, his willingness to bridge a divide forged by his own countrymen simply due to the colour of his skin, and his simple decency towards all men, of which he found little towards himself for much of his life, is the example that should guide all of humanity.

Personally I’m still restraining myself from flying to Derby and shooting the Derby County manager after being thrashed 0-6 by Liverpool on Saturday. I’d have shot myself on Saturday if it didn’t mean missing the Rugby World Cup.

Leaving suicide aside for the moment, I take great offence at the column written by the same John Carlin in the Observer on Sunday.

Here he asks whether Madiba is being succeeded by one of the world’s worst presidents, even ranking him alongside Robert Mugabe. Sensationalist garbage from a writer who should know better.

President Mbeki has incurred the wrath of the South African media as a result of, inter alia, his take on Aids, Zimbabwe, the minister of health and a failure to hold senior ANC officials to account.

There is no doubt the president has fallen short in these areas and others. I have often lambasted him on creating the perception that these people are untouchable, that leaving Zimbabweans to the mercy of Mugabe is unforgivable and that crime, for example, cannot be dealt with unless those at the top are seen to take the medicines they prescribe.

That said, I believe that this president, Thabo Mbeki, will be judged by history, as another great South African leader.

I also believe that his media analysts and spokesperson will be judged by the panel that adjudicates their efforts as one of the weakest and most ineffectual teams ever to back a president.

Mbeki inherited and continues to preside over one of the freest democracies in the world. He has sought to further transformation and bring peace to the region, and has achieved economic growth during his stay behind the R90-million wall.

In addition he has taken the media battering on the chin where other tinpot dictators have intervened.

He has answered his criticism using the machinery of a democracy that is an example to all world leaders. African leaders should take note that when you come under attack from the public and media, President Mbeki’s approach rather than that of Mugabe and many of his ilk is the way forward.

He has demonstrated loyalty and courage where others would have panicked and intervened or fired colleagues.

That is not to say that he is right keeping Manto in place; he is just not the man of expedience people would have you believe.

Any president who had the misfortune to follow the world icon that is Madiba was going to struggle by comparison. Nelson Mandela is a one-off, a superstar, the greatest black man ever to live on planet Earth, perhaps the greatest human being in history.

(Please note there is also a strong case to be made for Brian Clough, the Derby manager who made us champions of England, but that must surely place Madiba second.)

Who could follow that?

This, I believe, has been heightened by a pathetic media team in support of our president.

In every area where he is weak, he is left to struggle, and in those instances where he has achieved success, very little is highlighted to the public.

No human being is all good or all evil (perhaps the Nottingham Forest manager).

If we allow it, a decent man and our president is going to be trashed by certain parts of the media without reply, Give the public the president’s reasons for following certain paths. We may not agree with you, but far greater understanding will result.

Let the legacy of South Africa’s second post-apartheid president reflect the man: a lifetime struggle for the freedom of all South Africans, who promoted the cause of Africa and achieved economic growth during his watch.