Why do South Africans hate Nigerians?

Recently, some Nigerians living in South Africa were reported to have been victims of violence allegedly fuelled by xenophobia. Hate crimes against Nigerians living in South Africa are nothing new. Since the dismantling of apartheid, Nigerians and other African nationals living in the country of the Madiba have been the subjects of coordinated xenophobic violence reminiscent of what black South Africans themselves suffered during the apartheid era.  The story of this recent violence was not different from previous attacks. Reports of spontaneous assault by some South African members of Port Nolloth community were said to have targeted the Nigerian community living in the area.

They were reportedly chased out of their homes, their property looted and their shops burnt. The attackers have always accused the Nigerians of dealing in drugs. But the Nigerian community in South Africa has denied the allegation. They in turn have accused the South Africans of envy. They claimed South Africans have always felt threatened by the business success of Nigerians living in the country. Frequent attacks on Nigeria in South Africa have often grabbed media attention. Strangely, the South African government has uncharacteristically condemned the latest incident as xenophobia. Since 2006, hate crime has been on the increase. It peaked in 2008 with the widespread violence that targeted foreign nationals.

Apart from the poverty of the black population in South Africa, intolerance has also become one of the enduring legacies of the apartheid era — a system that brutally subjugated the blacks and treated them as second class citizens in their own country. How ironical it is then that South Africans would now turn around to subject their fellow black Africans to the same treatment? And to think it was the same Africans that supported them to fight apartheid leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Many of the freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela also sought refuge in several countries on the continent. Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere in Africa faced discrimination and even violence; though much of that risk stemmed from the institutionalised racism of the time. After 1994 and following democratisation, and contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased. Between 2007 and 2008, at least 67 people died of hate crimes. In 2008, a series of riots left 62 people dead in an attack apparently motivated by xenophobia. It has to be noted, however, that African immigrants have suffered racist attacks, with Nigerian nationals being at the centre of hate-filled violence and arson.

According to a 1998 Human Rights Watch report, immigrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique living in the Alexandra township near Johannesburg were physically assaulted over a period of several weeks in 1995, as armed gangs identified suspected migrants and marched them to the police station in an attempt to “clean the township of foreigners.” The campaigners, known as “Buyelekhaya” (go back home), blamed foreigners for crime, unemployment and sexual attacks. Attacks on foreign nationals increased markedly in late 2007. The most severe incident occurred in 2008 when a series of riots started in the township of Alexandra.  Locals attacked migrants from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. In recent years, tales of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa have left compatriots at home in shock. There have also been reported cases of harassment of Nigerian travellers arriving at the Oliver Thambo Airport. One celebrated case of disrespect was the treatment of Africa’s first Nobel winner, Prof. Wole Soyinka. In 2005, Soyinka was denied entry into South Africa. It took the last minute intervention of Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, to admit the Nobel Laureate into the country. Soyinka’s trip to South Africa which was in response to an invitation to deliver a lecture in honour of Mandela drew national and international focus to the country, both because of Mandela, whose birthday it was and Soyinka who was the guest speaker. The Professor was thus understandably peeved at his treatment. In a statement at the time, he lamented that the attitude of South African immigration “is not my idea of decent conduct towards one who is not an unknown to South African officials, has made several ‘regularised’ visits in the past, and has indeed been invited to the country on this occasion to do honour to the founding father of the modern South African nation.”

Many Nigerians have told tales of woes about how South African immigration officials treat them both in South Africa and in their embassy in Lagos. The plights of visa applicants at the South African embassy paint a sordid picture of the xenophobic tendencies of an average South African. During the 2010 World Cup, many Nigerians who sought genuine reasons to visit the country were denied entry for no reason. There were reports of officials hurling racist slurs at visa applicants. In 2012, the government of South Africa denied 125 Nigerians travellers entry into its country. The Nigerian travellers were prevented from entering South Africa on the grounds that they had “invalid” yellow fever vaccination cards. But many of the travellers who were frequent travellers said they had used the same cards in previous travels. The Nigerian government retaliated by denying entry to some South African travellers. A diplomatic row was averted when the South African government apologised to the Nigerian government.

Nigerians’ contact with South Africa began shortly after the end of apartheid in the early 1990s. Economic difficulties at home and the search for opportunities saw Nigerians seek greener pastures in South Africa. At the last count, Nigerians form the bulk of immigrants in that country. Many successful businesses are said to be owned by Nigerians. An average Nigerian in South Africa does not discriminate in their choice of jobs. The influx of Nigerians and their penchant to dominate appear to have angered the average South African. They have accused Nigerians and other immigrants of taking their jobs. They have also blamed Nigerians for dealing in drugs and other crimes. But many of these allegations against Nigerians and other immigrants have not been substantiated.

The South African government has also indirectly promoted and encouraged its citizens into believing that immigrants are responsible for unemployment and crimes.  For example, South Africa’s borders have been remilitarised. According to Christopher McMichael: “This shared state-corporate project of building up a ‘fortress South Africa’ also reveals a deeply entrenched seam of xenophobia, in which undocumented migrants and refugees from African countries are painted as a security risk akin to terrorism and organised crime. Parliamentary discussions on border security are rife with claims that foreign nationals are attempting to drain social grants and economic opportunities from citizens. The packaging of illegal immigration as a national security threat, which often relies on unsubstantiated claims about the inherent criminality of foreign nationals, provides an official gloss on deeply entrenched governmental xenophobia, in which African immigrants are targets for regular harassment, rounding up and extortion by the police. This normalisation of immigrants as figures of resentment may also fuel outbreaks of xenophobic violence’’.

Nigerians’ rights to live without fear must be protected. But those who are found to break the laws should be prosecuted. After all, there are many thriving South African businesses in Nigeria. Should we then accuse them of taking our jobs?  Nigerians have been tolerant of foreigners. Other countries should reciprocate our openness. Xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans are against the spirit of African Brotherhood. The Federal Government must protect Nigerians in whatever parts of the world they find themselves.

Corrupt politicians must pay for their sins – Rawlings

By Henry Umoru

…Fundamentalism, corruption threaten democracy — Shonekan
ABUJA — FORMER President of Ghana, Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings, Monday said if Nigeria and other parts of Africa must get it right and strengthen democracy, corrupt politicians must not be allowed to go scot-free.

This came as former Interim Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan, declared that religious fundamentalism poses a serious threat to the  nation’s democracy, including other parts of Africa.

According to Rawlings, Nigeria must not continue to pay lip service to eradicating corruption, especially against the backdrop that poor, petty thieves get imprisoned for several years, while businessmen evade taxes in millions of dollars and politicians embezzle state funds and go unpunished.

Rawlings

Speaking yesterday at a conference on Emerging Democracies in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities, organized by the National Institute for Legislative Studies, Abuja, Rawlings said: ‘’We cannot continue to pay lip service to the strengthening, empowerment and independent management of our multiple anti-corruption institutions.

“We live in countries where poor, petty thieves get imprisoned for several years, while businessmen who evade taxes in millions of dollars or a politician who misappropriates millions of state funds escape punishment.

“These inequalities are recipes for the retrogression of our democracies and we cannot allow the negative tide to continue. A democracy that cannot provide socio-economic justice cannot be a healthy democracy and will remain vulnerable and fragile.”

He noted that the primary challenge for emerging democracies in Africa was the failure of Western democracy to acknowledge its inherent flaws and encourage a system of democracy that was dynamic, home grown and imbued with the socio-cultural backgrounds of individual African states.

Rawlings, who noted that a practicing democracy that could not create the climate to correct economic ills and corruption, could not and would not be a democracy, adding that a democracy that could protect the sanctity of its electoral process was engaging in a fraudulent electoral coup d’etat.

According to him, equally destructive is the unfortunate practice of using money to buy the conscience of the electorate.

“Democratic institutions across the continent are poorly equipped to offer the best support to governments. As a capacity building institution dedicated to provide professional research, advice, training and advocacy for members of the legislature, your organization is in a unique position to be a pacesetter in empowering our senators and parliamentarians to better serve the interests of their constituents,” Rawlings said.

Speaking at the event which took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, former Interim Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan, stressed the need for Africa and Nigeria, in particular, to deepen democracy by ensuring that there was internal democracy in political parties.

He said:  “Religious fundamentalism is posing serious threat to democracy in parts of the continent, particularly in West Africa, North Africa and in the Horn of Africa. There is, therefore, an urgent need for  the countries concerned to constitutionally separate the state and religion and also enforce the provisions of the constitution in this regard.

“Another major challenge to democracy is corruption. Corruption debars progress and discourages foreign investors. It is encouraging that many African countries have established agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption.”

Culled: Vanguard

President Jonathan congratulates Iran’s president-elect

President Goodluck Jonathan congratulates Mr. Hassan Rouhani on his victory in Iran’s presidential elections.

President Jonathan also commends the government and people of Iran on the successful and peaceful election of a successor to outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.

The President applauds Mr. Rouhani’s characterisation of the outcome of the Iranian presidential elections as a victory for wisdom, moderation and maturity as well as his declared commitment to running an administration that will promote democracy, interaction and free dialogue.

President Jonathan and the Federal Government of Nigeria look forward to working with the President-elect and his incoming administration to further strengthen existing relations and bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and Iran.

The President prays that God Almighty will grant Mr. Rouhani continued good health and success in justifying the confidence reposed in him by the Iranian electorate when he assumes the Iranian Presidency in August.

Reuben Abati

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

June 16, 2013

Mandela, only leader in the world –Prof Adair

Ailing former South African President, Nelson Mandela, is the only person that deserves to be addressed as a leader in the world today, Prof. John Adair, the world’s first professor of leadership, has said.

Adair, the chair of the United Nations Strategic Leadership Centre, made the assertion on Saturday in a keynote lecture at the ‘Emerging Leaders Conference’ organised by The Punch Newspaper in conjunction with Guardians of the Nation International, a non-profit leadership development organisation, at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

“The only person who deserves the title of ‘a leader’ in the world today is Mandela. He is the one that stands out,” Adair said. He added that, while most leaders eventually lose their moral authority, Mandela had remained credible over the years.

Adair went ahead to speak of a need for great leaders in Nigeria.

He noted that Nigeria deserved great leaders in order to harness the country’s abundant resources.

He said, “The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people because the greatness is already there; the task of leadership is to draw it out.

“Nigeria is a great country — with about 186 million people, full of human and natural resources — there is no question about it. The question is, do you have great leaders? Nigeria deserves great leaders.”

In order to have great leaders, Adair said Nigeria as well as other nations, must invest in the development of young, aspiring leaders.

“Many political leaders emerged without training and preparation. There is need for training for aspiring leaders.

“I will like to see Nigeria leading the way among African countries in providing opportunities for aspiring young leaders,” he said.

Adair, who is also a lecturer on military history and adviser on leadership training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom, and Associate Director of The Industrial Society, said there was a need to convene a conference that would work out a strategy for leadership development in Nigeria.

He stressed that the working group must not necessarily be politicians.

Emphasising the importance of leadership training in the performance of leaders, he said, “Never condemn people for being bad leaders when they have not had the opportunity to understand leadership.”

He said, “There is a revolution from old style management to leadership; a large leadership industry has emerged, billions of dollars have been invested in it but does it work? Has the world become a better place?

“There are question marks — there is a great deal of nonsense that is being talked about as leadership. There is a need to establish leadership on very firm foundations.”

He identified integrity, fairness and justice as some of the attributes of true leaders.

“A leader should be the servant of the people. Success in any organisation or nation depends on leadership at every level.

“What a leader needs is practical wisdom and the ingredients are intelligence, experience and goodness. You could be appointed to a leadership position but you are not a leader until your appointment has been ratified in the hearts and minds of those working for you.

“You cannot transform people into leaders overnight, what you can do is to take people with potential and add value to that potential,” Adair said.

He also advised Nigerian authorities to tap the leadership potential at the grassroots by improving living standards in the rural villages.

“If you improve the standard of living in all the villages by 10 per cent, imagine the difference that would make,” he said.

President of GOTNI, Mr. Linus Okorie, also spoke of the need for true leaders in Nigeria.

He said, “Our nation is in search of leadership — we want people to emerge and help save us from our current reality.

“The founding fathers of the country got it wrong by not outlining any ideology for the country.

“The nations that make progress in the world are nations that invest on developing the leadership potential of the young ones, changing their thought patterns to a possibility mindset.”

The conference, which had over 1,000 young people in attendance, has the theme, ‘Leadership for Transformation: From Potential to Performance.’

Dignitaries who spoke in the course of the two-day event include the Chairman of Punch Nigeria Limited, Wale Aboderin, Minister for Youth Development, Inuwa Abdul-Kadir, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Amb. Godknows Igali.

Bishops hold prayer vigil outside Mandela hospital

PRETORIA – A dozen South African bishops on Friday held a prayer vigil outside the hospital where former president Nelson Mandela has spent a week receiving treatment for a lung infection.

The clerics, sporting flowing purple robes and white collars and representing a variety of denominations, stood hand-in-hand to say prayers for Mandela, who is said to be improving but still in a serious condition.

“Thank you (God) for the speedy recovery of Dr Nelson Mandela,” said Bishop Abraham Sibiya of the Christ Centred Church Episcopal Soshanguve, to chants of “amen”.

After a visit to the hospital late Thursday, President Jacob Zuma said the health of the country’s first black president “continues to improve but his condition remains serious.”

The hospital is under lockdown and entry is restricted to Mandela’s close family and those cleared to have business inside the hospital.

Sibiya told AFP that church leaders had come out in response to Zuma’s call to pray for the 94-year-old hero of the struggle against white-minority rule.

Zuma’s spokesman Mac Maharaj said he had no update on Mandela’s condition when contacted by AFP early Friday.

Mandela was admitted to hospital in the capital Pretoria in the early hours of Saturday for a pulmonary condition that has plagued him for years.

It is his fourth hospital stay since December, leading to a growing acceptance that the much-loved father of the “Rainbow Nation” may be nearing the end of his life.

Despite the more positive assessment of Mandela’s condition, concerns continue to grow and Zuma has asked the nation to pray for him.

“So we came to pray that God will heal former president Mandela and also we came to pray for the family that God will strengthen them at this difficult time and give them strength to face each and every day they go through,” Sibiya told AFP.

Members of Mandela’s family, known for frequent internal feuding, have been visiting him regularly in a public display of unity.

On Friday morning his daughter Zenani, who is South Africa’s ambassador to Argentina, visited him, as did some grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Mandela has a long history of lung problems since being diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis in 1988 during his 27 years in prison at the hands of the apartheid regime.

Experts say that infection makes him vulnerable to recurrent lung infections.

Obama to step up military support of Syrian rebels

President Barack Obama has authorised sending weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, U.S. officials said, after the White House disclosed that the United States has conclusive evidence President Bashar Assad’s government used chemical weapons against opposition forces trying to overthrow him.

Obama has repeatedly said the use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line,” suggesting it would trigger greater U.S. intervention in the two-year crisis that has killed 93,000 people.

Sen. John McCain, one of the strongest proponents of U.S. military action in Syria, said he was told Thursday that Obama had decided to “provide arms to the rebels,” a decision confirmed by three U.S. officials. The officials cautioned that decisions on the specific type of weaponry were still being finalized, though the CIA was expected to be tasked with teaching the rebels how to use the arms the White House had agreed to supply.

Still, the White House signaled that Obama did plan to step up U.S. involvement in the Syrian crisis.

“This is going to be different in both scope and scale in terms of what we are providing,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser.

 

The U.S. has so far provided the Syrian rebels with rations and medical supplies.

 

Thursday’s announcement followed a series of urgent meetings at the White House this week that revealed deep divisions within the administration over U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil war. The proponents of more aggressive action – including Secretary of State John Kerry – appeared to have won out over those wary of sending weapons and ammunition into a war zone where Hezbollah and Iranian fighters are backing Assad’s armed forces, and al-Qaida-linked extremists back the rebellion.

 

Obama still opposes putting American troops on the ground in Syria, and the U.S. has made no decision on operating a no-fly zone over Syria, Rhodes said.

 

U.S. officials said the administration could provide the rebels with a range of weapons, including small arms, ammunition, assault rifles and a variety of anti-tank weaponry such as shoulder-fired remote-propelled grenades and other missiles.

 

Most of those would be weapons the opposition forces could easily use and not require much additional training to operate. Obama’s opposition to deploying American troops to Syria makes it difficult to provide much large-scale training.

 

A U.S. official said the CIA and special operations trainers have already been training Syrian rebels on the use of anti-aircraft weaponry provided by the Persian Gulf states, as well as encrypted communications equipment, and was expected to run the expanded training program.

 

All of the officials insisted on anonymity in order to discuss internal administration discussions.

 

Word of the increased assistance followed new U.S. intelligence assessments showing that Assad has used chemical weapons, including sarin, on a small scale multiple times in the last year.

 

U.S. intelligence estimates 100 to 150 people have been killed in those attacks, the White House said.

 

The White House said it believes Assad’s regime still maintains control of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles and does not see any evidence that rebel forces have launched attacks using the deadly agents.

The Obama administration announced in April that it had “varying degrees of confidence” that sarin had been used in Syria. But it said at the time that it had not been able to determine who was responsible for deploying the gas.

The more conclusive findings announced Thursday were aided by evidence sent to the United States by France, which, along with Britain, has announced it had determined that Assad’s government had used chemical weapons.

The White House said it had notified Congress, the United Nations and key international allies about the new U.S. chemical weapons determination. Obama will discuss the assessments, along with broader problems in Syria, next week during the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland.

Among those in attendance will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Assad’s most powerful backers. Obama and Putin will hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the summit, where the U.S. leader is expected to press his Russian counterpart to drop his political and military support for the Syrian government.

“We believe that Russia and all members of the international community should be concerned about the use of chemical weapons,” Rhodes said.

The U.S. has so far provided the Syrian rebel army with rations and medical supplies. In April, Kerry announced that the administration had agreed in principle to expand its military support to the opposition to include defensive items like night vision goggles, body armor and armored vehicles.

The Syrian fighters have been clamoring for bolder Western intervention, particularly given the estimated 5,000 Hezbollah guerrillas propping up Assad’s forces. Assad’s stunning military success last week at Qusair, near the Lebanese border, and preparations for offensives against Homs and Aleppo have made the matter more urgent.

Some U.S. lawmakers have expressed reservations about American involvement in another conflict and fears that weapons sent to the rebels could fall into the hands of al-Qaida-linked groups.

Row as Mugabe sets Zimbabwe election for July 31

HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe was plunged into fresh political crisis on Thursday as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai vowed to fight a unilateral decision by President Robert Mugabe to hold elections on July 31.

Mugabe used temporary presidential powers to set the date for a vote that would put an end to their uneasy power-sharing agreement.

“Today, early in the morning, I received a letter from president Mugabe (proclaiming)… the July 31 as the election day,” Tsvangirai said.

“President Mugabe is acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally,” said Tsvangirai. “As prime minister I cannot and will not accept this.”

He vowed to take the matter to court.

While Mugabe’s move would comply with a constitutional court order to hold elections by the end of July, the date of the vote is fiercely contested.

Tsvangirai has vowed to veto any election date that comes before democratic reforms are put into place, fearing Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party may once again attempt to manipulate the vote.

Previous Zimbabwean elections have been widely condemned as rigged.

Tsvangirai called on regional leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) — which pushed the pair into a unity government after violent 2008 elections — to act when they meet on Saturday in Maputo.

“SADC has the responsibility of ensuring that they call the president to order.”

He described Mugabe’s move as “an unmitigated frontal and rear attack” on the regional grouping.

Under the power-sharing deal Mugabe must consult Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) about the date of the presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

“The interpretation of the word ‘consultation’ is a bit of a challenge,” said Trevor Maisiri of the International Crisis Group.

“If you speak to ZANU-PF they’ll say consultation means the president can ask the principals what they think. With their suggestions he can make a decision.”

“The MDC say ‘we’ll make the decision together’.”

While many reforms have been carried out, including the passing of a new constitution, Tsvangirai argues that electoral, media and security laws that would ensure a free vote still need to be implemented.

Security tightens as Mandela spends fourth day in hospital

JOHANNESBURG  (AFP) – South African police on Tuesday tightened security at the Pretoria hospital where ailing anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was spending his fourth day in intensive care battling a lung infection.

Around a dozen armed police stood guard outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in the capital, where the 94-year-old remained in “serious but stable” condition.

Mandela, one of the greatest figures of the 20th century, is being treated for a recurrent lung infection that medical experts say could be life threatening.

Tuesday marked 49 years to the day since he was sentenced to life in prison in 1964 for conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government.

Mandela spent much of the subsequent 27 years behind bars on wind-swept Robben Island, near Cape Town, where he contracted tuberculosis.

His latest health scare has been met with prayers and a growing acceptance among South Africans that their hero, who became the first black leader of the country after historic all-race elections in 1994, may be nearing the end of his life.

In Pretoria, police cordoned off an area in front of the private specialist facility, searching incoming vehicles and pedestrians amid a heavy media presence.

“They are there to protect the members of his family who come to visit him,” a police sergeant told AFP, asking not to be named because Mandela’s location has not been confirmed by the government.

On Monday, the arrival of his former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and the couple’s daughter Zindzi prompted a scuffle between security and photographers camped outside the clinic.

Madikizela-Mandela became a global political figure in her own right while campaigning for her husband’s release from prison.

His current wife Grace Machel called off a trip to London last week to be with her ailing husband.

Little information has been released about Mandela’s condition, but he has a long history of lung problems since being diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis in 1988.

It is the fourth hospital stay since December for the Nobel Peace Prize winner and father of the “Rainbow Nation”.

Two months ago Mandela, who turns 95 next month, was discharged following treatment for pneumonia.

In December he underwent surgery to remove gallstones as he recovered from a lung infection. In March he was admitted for a scheduled overnight check-up before returning later that month for 10 days.

“Pneumonia is a killer disease,” said Professor Keertan Dheda, the head of pulmonology at the University of Cape Town.

“In Mr Mandela’s case, besides age, we know that he has previously had tuberculosis and that can weaken the lung defences and make one more prone to infections,” he said.

“Secondly we know that Mandela worked in the quarry on Robben Island for many years and he has been chronically exposed to dust, from crushing rocks and we know that also is a potent suppressor of your efficient lung defences.”

But Dheda said assurances that Mandela, once a spry boxer, was breathing on his own indicated that the infection had not yet led to serious lung failure.

Access to the revered statesman has been restricted to close family members.

In late April, President Jacob Zuma and top party officials were photographed with an unsmiling Mandela looking exceedingly frail at his Johannesburg home.

The visit prompted allegations that the embattled ruling party was exploiting Mandela for political gain.

The ANC — facing 2014 elections — has lost much of its Mandela shine amid widespread corruption, poverty and poor public services.

Mandela has not been seen in public since the World Cup final in South Africa in July 2010, and has not been politically active for years.

“I think there will be concerns from outside South Africa that Mandela is seen as the glue that holds South Africa together,” analyst Daniel Silke told AFP.

“But I think that this is something long gone frankly.”

After serving just one term as president, Mandela turned his energy to the battle against AIDS and to conflict resolution, before stepping out of the public eye a decade ago at the age of 85.

His hospitalisation has prompted an outpouring of well wishes from around the globe, including from fellow Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

“We offer our thanks to God for the extraordinary gift of Mr Mandela, and wish his family strength,” Tutu said in a statement from his foundation.

“As the beloved father of our nation… once again endures the ravages of time in hospital, our prayers are for his comfort and his dignity.”

South Africa ready to let go of Mandela

CAPE TOWN  (AFP) – Nelson Mandela’s lengthy absence from the spotlight has forced his adoring country to envisage what their hard-won and often fraught multi-racial democracy means without the man who forged it.

The beloved and frail 94-year-old, who is back in hospital with a lung infection, still embodies for most South Africans the “Rainbow Nation” he strived for despite endless persecution at the hands of white apartheid rulers.

However having stepped out of the public eye nearly a decade ago, during which South Africa has battled turbulent political crises and scandals, analysts say Mandela’s influence has waned.

“The bottom line is that Mr Mandela has not been at the moral and political centre of South Africa for a very long time,” political commentator Eusebius McKaiser said of the former president last seen in public in 2010.

“We have let go of him ages ago.”

Despite his absence, South Africa’s first black president, remains a powerful symbol of racial unity nearly 20 years after he pledged a new era for his bitterly divided nation.

Testimony to this is the emotional bond that South Africans feel to him. With familial affection, he is often simply known as “tata” (father) or “tatamkhulu” (grandfather) by young and old, black and white.

But analysts agree that his influence on daily life has long faded.

“I think there will be concerns from outside South Africa that Mandela is seen as the glue that holds South Africa together,” analyst Daniel Silke told AFP.

“But I think that this is something long gone frankly.”

With Mandela having made his last political speech in 2009, South Africa’s political arena has shifted radically since he ushered in the heady leap into multi-race democracy.

“The point needs to be made that society and politics have changed in South Africa since the Mandela era,” said Silke.

“I just don’t think that Nelson Mandela’s passing is going to have any dramatic effect on domestic politics in South Africa,” he added.

Increasing acceptance of his mortality, with increasing hospital stays, has also seen the once-taboo topic of death broached as South Africa contemplates itself as a post-Mandela society.

His hospitalisation has triggered an outpouring of wishes for his recovery.

But this is often motivated by a genuine love for the man and his role in shaping the country, rather than melodramatic fears for South Africa, said McKaiser.

He said it was not Mandela’s mere presence which saved South Africa from becoming the next Zimbabwe — the country’s restive neighbour where white farmers saw their land seized — or from other instability.

“We, independent of his physical existence, are responsible for why the country has not been collapsing and so his non-existence cannot be a game changer.”

Viewed as his greatest gift to South Africa, Mandela paved the way for peaceful reconciliation, which he selflessly strived for despite being incarcerated by the apartheid government for 27 years, and which saw the fragile nation sidestep civil war.

“I think we live in a generation where we’re incredibly grateful for what he did, especially my parents are also,” said school pupil Thingo Mthombeni, 18, in Soweto.

“Because then they get to see their children go to good schools and integrate with other people and other races, which is pretty awesome.”

A pull-back on reconciliation as many feared was unlikely, said Silke.

“The issue of reconciliation I think permeates South African politics way beyond the era of Nelson Mandela,” he said.

During Mandela’s longest hospital stay as a free man in December, an article “Nelson Mandela is going to die – it’s sad, but it’s ok” was penned.

In it, GroundUp editor Nathan Geffen argued that South Africa held together not because of the Mandela of today but because of his work over his lifetime.

“It is insulting to Mandela to suggest that his lifetime’s work will unravel at the end of his lifetime,” he wrote.

Did ‘War on Terror’ encourage radical Islam? – Karzai

DOHA (AFP) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday the Muslim world was “in turmoil” and wondered whether the “war on terror” led by the United States since 2001 was to blame for the radicalisation.

Addressing a forum on relations between the US and the Muslim world in Doha, Karzai declared: “The war on terror as it began in 2001 and moved forward until today has not been a happy one.”

“Have we succeeded in the war on terror?” he went on.

“Did we address the sanctuaries of terrorism? And by waging this war on terrorism, have we brought less radicalism to the Muslim world, or caused more radicalism?”

The Afghan leader said: “Today, the Muslim world is in turmoil from Pakistan up to Nigeria,” and stressed: “In my view, the West as led by the US needs to explain itself to the Muslim world.”

“If things have gone wrong, action must be taken to correct …,” Karzai said.

“In my view, there is much that we Muslims have to correct in our societies and governments, by showing more tolerance towards the rest of the world and other religions … but there is also a great deal of explanation to be done by the US and our Western friends.”

The US-Islamic World Forum, sponsored by the Washington-based Brookings Institution and scheduled to run through Tuesday, is to debate developments in Afghanistan, the conflict in Syria and the political and economic changes brought about in the countries affected by the “Arab Spring.”