BETWEEN TWO STATUES: NELSON MANDELA AND JACOB ZUMA. A LESSON IN ICONOLATRY

BETWEEN TWO STATUES: NELSON MANDELA AND JACOB ZUMA. A LESSON IN ICONOLATRY

(C) 2018               CHIBU NDUBUISI             26/3/2018        WEEK 13

Peace be upon you.

        

An understanding of the concept of Iconoclast and iconolatry is important before diving in to the discourse of today.   An iconoclast is a person who criticizes or opposes beliefs and practices that are widely accepted or a person who destroys religious images or opposes their veneration. Those who have criticized Rochas for the statues he erected in Imo state can be called Iconoclast. 

Iconolatry on the other hand is the worship of images or idols. So i will hypothesize that Rochas Okorocha the Governor of Imo state believes in Iconolatry and that is why he has an unusual taste and love for statues as exemplified by the statues he has erected in his state. He even added his voice that “he erects statues because history is dying in Africa” and wants to celebrate leaders, who had through “selfless efforts” contributed to the development of the state, Nigeria and the African continent.

 

Mandela is globally acclaimed as an agent of peace, who sought not revenge for his oppressors but tolerance, realizing that an eye for an eye leads to more blindness, he led South Africa to the path of peace, progress, stability and not showing vengefulness like Robert Mugabe who was blinded by hate, as a result of his stand on reconciliation, Mandela was honoured globally and many nations began setting up his statue as witnessed in many parts of the globe. Of particular note is his statue at parliament square UK, far away from Africa.

What are the qualities that make someone leave his footprints in the sands of time? Why did Rochas deem it necessary to erect Jacob Zuma in Nigeria despite the xenophobic attack that Nigerians have experienced during his tenure as President? Jacob Zuma faced countless charges of corruption in South Africa and survived many impeachment attempt form the members of parliament. The pressure on Zuma continued until he was forced to resign as a result of incompetence and ineptitude. That is the person Rochas decided to honour in Nigeria. 

Using the law of attraction as an analogy, we can see that a developed nation like the United Kingdom erected the statue of a developed mind like Mandela but a backward nation like Nigeria attracted a backward and failed Zuma to Imo state to mold him in the image and likeness of their failure. No wonder the Governor in a recent forum opined that “stealing is better than smoking marijuana”.

Sometimes the African man’s craze for titles is to cover up their Lilliputian minds as demonstrated and evidenced by the title Jacob Zuma received in Imo state. The president, however, said he was at a loss for words after receiving the title, Zuma said he was leaving the state and Nigeria as a hero. According to him, “I walked in here‚ as an ordinary freedom fighter. I’m leaving Nigeria‚ through the state of Imo‚ as a hero. What a decoration.”  They seek external edifice and adulation for an inner hollowness and emptiness. 

Let me give a little chronology about statues that have been pulled down globally. In 1956, the statue of Stalin was brought down in in Budapest and removed from Georgia his home town in in 2010. The Poles brought down the statue of Lenin in 1990. The Iraqis did the same to Saddam Hussein in 2003. In 2011 the statue of Gadhafi was pulled down and that of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was brought down. In Cape Town, South Africa, the statue of imperialist businessman Cecil John Rhodes was dismantled in 2015. Lately in the United States, debates over Confederate symbols have been heating up because of the activities of white supremacist.  I want to aver that it is the same fate that awaits the statue of Jacob Zuma in Imo state Nigeria, whether Rochas likes it or not. 

Since when, did erection of statues turn to dividends of democracy? A road named after Jacob Zuma, where does it lead to? It leads to infamy, political anarchy, mismanagement and above all a route to bad governance. 

Punch newspaper reported that Okorocha was set to unveil statues of former President Olusegun Obasanjo; a former Vice-President, Alex Ekwueme; a former Senate President, late Evans Enwerem; and the first civilian Imo State Governor, Sam Mbakwe. According to the source, others whose statues would soon be unveiled are those of the first Nigerian President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe; former Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa; late sage, Obafemi Awolowo; and Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo.

In America when statues are erected, there are screeds of text engraved in such edifice that reminds us of the impact made by that fellow. On the statue of Martin Luther jnr the major text there is "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." This quotation serves as the theme of the overall design of the memorial, which realizes the metaphorical mountain and stone. There are other quotes on the stones and will be reproduced below for us to learn what makes a person great.

The fourteen quotes on the Martin Luther King Jr. Inscription Wall are

1) "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends

towards justice." (31 March 1968, National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.)

2) "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive

out hate, only love can do that." (1963, Strength to Love)

3) "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in

reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."

(10 December 1964, Oslo, Norway)

4) "Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal

rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in." (18 April 1959, Washington, D.C.)

5) "I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not

in anger but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and above all with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as a moral example of the world." (25 February 1967, Los Angeles, California)

6) "If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather

than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective." (24 December 1967, Atlanta, Georgia)

7) "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an

inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." (16 April 1963, Birmingham, AL)

8) "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a

day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits." (10 December 1964, Oslo, Norway)

9) "It is not enough to say "We must not wage war." It is necessary to love peace

and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace." (24 December 1967, Atlanta)

10) "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort

and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." (25

February 1967, Los Angeles)

11) “Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in

order to preserve the best in their individual societies." (4 April 1967, Riverside Church,New York)

12) "We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs

down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream." (5 December 1955,

Montgomery, Alabama)

13) "We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a

society that can live with its conscience." (16 April 1963, Birmingham, AL)

14) "True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice."

(16 April 1963, Birmingham, AL)

We can learn a lot from these experiences, if we are serious about learning history as opined by Governor Okorocha.

Peace be with you.

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