NLC urges African leaders to lead like Mandela

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Africa needs statesmanship as offered by Nelson Mandela, if the continent must meet the Sutainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030”.

Comrade Issa Aremu, NEC member of NLC and convener of 2019 Nelson Mandela International Day has said.

Aremu made the observation in a statement made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.

The labour leader said  Nelson Mandela International Day was launched by United Nations on  18 July 2009 to commemorate the lifetime of service Nelson Mandela gave to South Africa and the world.

According  to  him, this year’s edition marks the 10th anniversary of Mandela Day.

The labour leader said it was time African leaders  led like the late Madiba in terms of statesmanship as distinct from what he called “current pervasive brinkmanship”.  According to him, emulating Nelson Mandela leadership style must start with “little but tangible values as time consciousness and punctuality” .

‘Mandela” he observed “was a stickler to punctuality. Mandela decried the concept of Africa time”.

“Africa must be time conscious like Mandela. Africa was unable to meet  most of the eight  Millennium Development Goals, (MDGS) launched in 2000 and terminated in 2015 .

“For Africans to achieve the new sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2030 statesmanship must start with  agenda,  we must be time conscious and get the work done at the right time and avoid procrastination .”

He noted that Mandela having gained freedom on 11 February 1990 from 27 years- imprisonment, in record time achieved great feats such as negotiated establishment of democracy and freedom in South Africa in 1994, became  the first President of post-apartheid South Africa, enthroned unprecedented  racial harmony, forgiveness and reconciliation and though  personal integrity got the first hosting right for soccer World Cup for Africa adding that Mandela  received more than 260 honors in his lifetime including Nobel Peace Prize.

“Mandela showed that there was no African Time but African Development Time” he noted

Comrade Aremu who was also 2019 Labour Party gubernatorial candidate, commended the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and citizens of state for joining the progressive forces worldwide in marking the 10th anniversary of Mandela Day.

On the  theme of  2019 Mandela Day  which is for humanity to take Action Against Poverty, Comrade Aremu observed that key to prosperity is revival of closed industries especially textile, to create jobs and incomes for the unemployed youths.