Nelson Mandela Dies At 95

*Mandela: Time To Say Goodbye

One of the world’s most respected statesmen and former South African President, Nelson Mandela, is dead. He died on Wednesday, December 5, 2013, at about 20.50 pm, surrounded by his family. He was aged 95.

In a broadcast shortly after his death, South African President, Jacob Zuma, announced to South Africans: “Our nation has lost its greatest son; our people have lost a father”

Below Is The Full Text Of Mr. Zuma’s Statement:

“Fellow South Africans. Our beloved Nelson Mandela, the founding president of our democratic nation has departed.

“He passed on peacefully. Our people have lost a father. Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.

“His tireless struggle for freedom, earned him the respect of the world. His humility, his compassion and his humanity earned him their love

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mandela family. To them we owe a debt of gratitude.

“They have sacrificed much and endured much so that our people could be free.

“Our thoughts are with the SA people who today mourn the loss of the one person who more than any other came to embody their sense of a common nationhood.

Zuma: Announcing Mandela In A National Broadcast 

“Our thoughts are with the millions of pelople across the world who embraced Madiba as their own and who saw his cause as their cause.

“Yet what made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human we saw in him what we seek in ourselves. And in him we saw so much of ourselves.

“Our beloved Madiba will be accorded a state funeral I’ve ordered that all flags of the Republic of South Africa be lowered to half mast from tomorrow 6 December and to remain at half mast until after the funeral.

“Let us recall the values for which Madiba fought. Let us reaffirm his vision of a society in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by amnother

“We will always love you Madiba. May your soul rest in peace. God bless Africa.”

World leaders have paid tributes to Mandela. 

*Obama Speaks On Mandela's Death 

In a broadcast in Washington, President Barack Obama said the world had lost   “one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth…”
Obama described himself as “one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life.”  

He said further: “My very first political action -- the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics was a protest against apartheid. I would study his words and his writings. The day he was released from prison it gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they're guided by their hopes and not by their fears. And like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set. And so long as I live, I will do what I can to learn from him.”

In Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan said that “Mandela will always be remembered and honoured by all mankind as one of its greatest liberators, a wise, courageous and compassionate leader, and an icon of true democracy.”

Mandela’s death, he said, “will create a huge vacuum that will be difficult to fill in our continent.” 

On his part, British Prime Minister, David Cameron, lamented: “A great light has gone out in the world. Nelson Mandela was a towering figure in our time; a legend in life and now in death – a true global hero. Across the country he loved they will be mourning a man who was the embodiment of grace. Meeting him was one of the great honours of my life."

In his tribute, former British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, described Mandela as “a wonderful man to be around, with a sharp wit, extraordinary political savvy and a lovely way of charming everyone in a building.”

Also reacting to Mandela’s death, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said: "Africa has suffered from colonial rule and abuse of human rights and human dignity and it's only because of such a great man like Mandela that it is possible for people to live in human dignity. We have to learn from his determination and wisdom to make the world a better world."

Former US President, Bill Clinton, also paid a tribute to Mandela. “Today the world has lost one of its most important leaders and one of its finest human beings. History will remember Nelson Mandela as a champion for human dignity and freedom, for peace and reconciliation. We will remember him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion, for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy but a way of life. All of us are living in a better world because of the life that Madiba lived. He proved that there is freedom in forgiving, that a big heart is better than a closed mind, and that life's real victories must be shared," Clinton said.

* Nelson Mandela And Chinua Achebe: The Writer In 
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