Happy birthday, Nelson Mandela, you will never be forgotten

EDITOR: The 100th birthday of the late great Nelson Mandela on the 18th of July, 2018, floods my mind with the tremendous contributions that this icon made to his native South Africa and the world.

He will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest political leaders in history. His remarkable life on planet earth saw him imprisoned for some 27 years for advocating equal rights and justice for his people. From the evil system of apartheid, he fought to free the black South Africans from the scourge of the iniquitous and oppressive policy.

After his release from prison, he could have influenced a civil war that would have devastated his nation, but he forgave his enemies and ensured that peace and goodwill prevailed. His message of reconciliation, not vengeance, inspired the world and he negotiated a peaceful end to apartheid and urged forgiveness for the white government that imprisoned him.

In his lifetime, he became a lawyer, a militant freedom fighter, a unifying figure after his imprisonment, president of South Africa and elder statesman. It is evident that Mandela became the nation’s conscience as it healed from the scars of segregation.

A great icon of magnanimity and forgiveness and a man of great courage and wisdom, he can truly be described as not only a man of all seasons but one for all ages.

I had the privilege to meet and talk to this awesome yet humble man and I shall always remember his ever present smile and his words of wisdom.

Happy birthday Madiba, you will never be forgotten. Rest in peace and rise to eternal glory.

Herbert “Herbie” Young