Modest Thoughts with Ayuba
Yilgak'ha
In a world where there is
so many contradictions: social inequalities, injustices,
prejudices, crimes and
several other unsettling issues affecting humanity, there is no end to the need
for great minds like Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King Jr., etc. In
the eye of the world, these personalities were charismatic and pragmatic
leaders whose lives significantly touched the world in many ways than one. They
were men with many parts, enigmas and harbingers of hope for social liberation
worldwide.
In this piece, the
subject of discussion is Desmond Tutu. I came across this great name in a
General Studies (GST) class during my first year in the University of Jos,
Plateau State, Nigeria. A renowned scholar of African folklore and tradition,
Prof. Ajaode shared with us a profound quote attributed to Tutu. It reads,
"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the
land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the
Bible and they had the land."! This was a metaphorical insinuation of how
Africans were tricked into surrounding their rich land, the 'Black Gold'
through religion. In other words, the phenomenal submission has, ever after,
become a reference point for robust debate on colonialism and underdevelopment
in Africa.
Desmond Mpilo Tutu hails
from Klerksdorp, a community in Southern DC, North West, South Africa. His
parents were Zachariah Zililo Tutu (father) who was a teacher by profession and
Allen Dorothea Mavoertsek Mathlare (mother). Therefore, he was born of a mixed
Motswana and Xhosa background where his father and mother respectively belonged
as tribes. The family background was a mean one.
Tutu was born on October 7,
1931 at his home town, Klerksdorp, South Africa. He had his early education at
South African missionary schools where his father taught. His early ambition
was to pursue a career in medicine, but due to financial constraints, he
enrolled in a teacher's training where he graduated and picked up a teaching
job in 1955. He married to Nomalizo Leah Shenaxane that same year, but left the
teaching profession two years after, that is, 1957. He had four children, signifying the man was a responsible family man.
He died weeks after FW de
Klerk, the last Apartheid President died at 85 years old. Before his death at
the age 90 on December 26, 2021 in Cape Town, was an ordained Anglican Priest.
Despite his poor family heritage, Desmond Tutu managed to rise to global
reckoning through proven courage, doggedness and consistency.
Tutu was a myth maker in
the order of great world leaders like George Washington of USA, Winston Churchill
of the UK, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, etc. "All nations generate
self-serving myths that show the people and the country in a favourable moral
light. Quite often, these myths focus upon an individual hero who simultaneously embodies or express the national character"(Boller, 1981).
The vocal Anglican cleric
was ordained Anglican priest in 1961 after he successfully graduated from St.
Peter’s Theological College, Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1966, Tutu also
backed a master's of Art (M.A) degree at King’s College, London. This feat
further equipment and prepared him for the task ahead: ministering the
liberating power of God's word!
Desmond Tutu was the first
African Bishop who held the position of Bishop and Arch Bishop of Johannesburg
from 1985 to 1986 and then Cape Town from 1986 to 1996 respectively. These were
rare opportunities for him to demonstrate the capacity of the black race in
church leadership and he delivered. It goes to show without saying that
leadership capabilities are not dependent on one's race or colour, but a function of
commitment and determination backed by the grace of God which does not show
favouritism.
The political matrix under
which Tutu operated, in his active years in ministry, was the apartheid regime.
Apartheid is described as a draconian regime in South Africa, where a white
minority took charge and controlled the country's national life where Blacks
were in the majority. It can also be perceived as racial imperialism or racial
domination of a black majority by a white minority. It was one of the worst
colonial legacies in human history. As bad as the system was, this departed
rare gem, rose to prominence.
Desmond Tutu was a South
African national who became a global figure following his non -violent crusade
against the unpopular apartheid regime in his country. He was appointed to take
charge of the popular Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated
human rights violations as a means deep wounds created by apartheid
contradictions. Tutu shouldered this herculean task with distinction, a
development that won him numerous prestigious awards like the Nobel Peace prize
in 1984, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, The Mo Ibrahim
Foundation award in 2012 and Templeton Prize 2013 amongst others.
Perhaps, part of the most
enduring legacies of this great son of Africa and the universal preacher of the
gospel was his deep insight and life-changing thoughts or teachings. He, for
instance, demonstrated how much humans need each other in the following words:
"None of us comes into
the world fully formed. We would not know how to think, or walk, or speak, or
behave as human beings unless we learned it from other human beings. We need
other human beings in order to be human. I am because other people are. A
person is entitled to stable community life, and the first of these
communities is the family." This gospel corroborates several other postulations
such as "No one is an island, entirely to himself...", "Nobody
has the monopoly of knowledge", etc. There is power in our unity and
community life. There's a lot to make out of life when we harmonise and
appropriate our talents together. The power in our interdependence on one
another!
Like Nelson Mandela, Lucky
Dube, Late Bishop Tutu was one of the greatest social crusaders and moral
compasses the world has ever produced. Morality are those good or bad things
one does within the context, loose or varied cultural dictates but strict guide
one's conscience. It is mirrored within the context of this universal
charge: 'Do unto others what you would want them to do unto you.'! Tutu lived
his life throughout projecting cherishable moral values the world craves: love,
respect for a fellow human, equity, fairness, etc., without bias or prejudices.
His words, "Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little
bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." What a profound
lubricant for universal peace and prosperity.
Though a theologian,
minister of moral absolutes, strict ordinances of God, Tutu was a tested
democrat and an apostle of the democratic dialogue. He strongly believes in the
power and superiority of ideas. While alive, he shared one of the thoughts which
shaped him. His words: 'My father used to say, "Don't raise your voice.
Improve your argument." Good sense does not always lie with the loudest
shouters, nor can we say that a large, unruly crowd is always the best arbiter
of what is right.'" For this great mind, the superior argument carries the day, there is no democratic credential as potent and outstanding than this. I
used to think that politics and religion do not go together, but a lesson from
Tutu has convicted me of my mistake. I am sorry, I am grateful.
Until he kissed the earth,
Tutu was quite active in condemning evil or injustice whenever he sees one. To
his credit were these beautifully knitted diagnoses of the culture of silence
in the face of evil: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you
have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail
of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate
your neutrality." This word corroborates other popular epithets: "If
you see something, say something"; "the only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"( Edmund Burke). No wonder,
he was not complacent and become a unique, but loud voice in condemning the
draconian apartheid regime in his country. Arch Bishop Tutu to be a stern critic of the ANC government, especially when the country denies the Dalai Lama of Tibet clearance (opportunity) to
visit South Africa in 2010.
Tutu knew men could offend
one another, therefore, he taught about forgiveness and how to do it, saying,
"Forgiving is not forgetting; it's actually remembering - Remembering and
not using your right to hit back. It's a second chance for a new beginning. And
the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don't want to
repeat what happened." Forgiveness is an act of showing mercy and not
retaliating against someone's wrongdoing or being offended by anyone who has been offended.
A very important remedy in a falling and infallible word.
Indeed, Tutu was admired as
a sage in the rank of Pan human and Pan African nationalist like Martin Luther
King Jr., Nkrumah of Ghana, Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe, Zik of Africa,
Obafemi Awolowo, etc., all of the blessed memory. Great were their speeches. By
their literary power, these men moved their generation and world in spectacular
ways. Great men minds, movers and shakers of the universe and late Bishop made
the list!
If the world and Africa, in particular, must be liberated from its present contradictions, it will start by
liberating the mind through testing philosophies like bequeathed us by late Tutu
and other respected world liberation fighters. Freedom cannot come to nations
by mere wishes, but through sincere commitment and constructive engagement. Lazy
and lousy disposition cannot help.
It is instructive to note here
that if the world should live out the true meanings of Tutu's postulations, it
shall be a better place for all to live and have their being. This man was
indeed a priceless asset to humans. Tutu was a brand so special. He can be
remembered as God's servant and a patriotic citizen of the world whose primary
duty post was South Africa. Apartheid could not endure in the country because it
was soundly and openly resisted. This courageous resistance against the regime
monster could be deployed as a reliable working tool to end institutional
corruption, bad governance, terrorism, social ills of all sorts, even climate
change and health epidemics or pandemics. There is power in Courage, Commitment
and Consistency against human progress. There is no better way to get this
message clearer than reflecting on the life and times of this departed hero.
There is no doubt when the
roll call of those who positively impacted the world and South Africa, in particular, is taken, no
historian worth his salt will forget to add Arch Bishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu to
the list. The name of this enigma, patriot, churchman, moralist, human rights
activist shall forever remain in the Guinness book of records, the respected
Hall of Fame of those who really matter in the service of God and humanity.
Rest in peace resourceful septuagenarian!
(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba
Yilgak'ha, December 28, 2021; SMS: 08116181263; Email loisayuba420@gmail.com)
References
Boller, P. F. (1981).
Presidential anecdotes. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tocqueville, A. D. (1835).
Democracy in America. New York: Doubleday.
