Up there with the most famous leaders of all time, Mandela’s legacy has continued till this day with many people drawing inspiration from him. During his prime, he led the anti-apartheid movement and helped unite South Africa. His contribution to South Africa and the world’s progression has been great. Today, South Africa has been experiencing a massive crisis. I would like to take some time to discuss this crisis, and how I think Mandela would personally try to solve it.
Now you might have no idea what I’m talking about when I say “crisis” in South Africa, so let me give you some background information. South Africa is currently experiencing a looting crisis. Over 200 people have been killed with more than 3000 arrested and this was basically all caused by man, Jacob Zuma. Earlier, rumors had spread that corruption had started to occur in the government that sprouted from the President of South Africa. After the rumors started to spread a little, Jacob Zuma suddenly decided to resign as President of South Africa for reasons that were unclear. That started a wave of suspicion. Why would a President suddenly just resign? Well, it’s because of the rumors. When officials inquired about the President, he refused to testify. This is when things get tricky. With no ruler, the country would be forced into turmoil. Many stores were being looted and violence was occuring. If only…. If only that man was still around.
Speaking of that man, I think you know who I’m talking about. The man who led the anti-apartheid movement and united South Africa, Nelson Mandela. If Mandela were still around today, I think his approach would involve some sort of pressure or force, because even though Mandela was known to have a comforting aura, he was also known to have an intimidating aura when he got serious. It would be hard to reunite South Africa without using some sort of threat/force. I do think that his plan would be different from any other leader but it’s hard to pinpoint what he would do because Mandela is a master at adjusting to tough situations (well that’s why he’s a leader). As mentioned in the book, Invictus, Mandela likes to solve problems head-on without fear so I think that he would actually visit every individual place where the rioting is occurring and would probably do something in each respective place.
Without a doubt, I think that the looting crisis in South Africa is probably one of the major problems in the world right now. However, new leaders need to step up because Mandela isn’t someone who lives forever (which we know now obviously). I think South Africa should try their best to look for leaders who were like Mandela though or in other words, who have similar leadership traits as Mandela.