Nelson Mandela (Research Paper Sample)

Nelson Mandela
Name
Institution
Your city has decided to build a statue or monument to honor a famous person in your country. Who would you choose? Use reasons and specific examples to support your choice.
Who is a famous person? It has to be an imperative person who incarcerates my attention and has made an impact; not just by influencing a few people but the world altogether. I have heard of various personalities over the years, researching about them, and discovered that these personalities have made a remarkable impact to be recognized; someone with a reputable character to be reckoned with.  In this regard, I would consider this man as one of history’s renowned leaders, Mr. Nelson Mandela.
In my view, Nelson Mandela or Madiba, as he was popularly known in his home country, South Africa, is an extraordinary leader. His exceptional selflessness saw him persevere imprisonment under the colonialists for 27 years, later liberating the country from the colonial rule and becoming the nation’s first Black president triumphing over the apartheid chains that had shackled the country for decades (Lodge, 2006). His exceptional style of leadership and his prominence as a leader whose beliefs and practices traversed boundaries of gender, culture, race, age and religion, are what defines him as the most celebrated person in the world.
The country that Mandela led was under the world’s scrutiny, as racial profiling and ethnic discrimination was rampant. Mandela demonstrated the maxim that great leadership did not only mean leading others, but also acting in the capacity to inspire your followers to greatness (Mandela, Wyk & Bouma, 2009). I would engage this great man into confiding with me on how to emulate his footsteps. I mostly admire his principle that using tactics was the key to solving issues since everything has a different value attached to it. One of the tactics that he employed was being obsequious with his adversaries and believed it to be a step towards conquering them over. This is a trait that I would be eager to learn and no other greater teacher would instruct it better than the master tactician himself would.
One of his memorable quotes was “people always act in their own interest”. He observed that this was not an imperfection, but an act of human personality (Mandela, Asmal, Chidester & James, 2003).  Therefore, it was paramount to embrace those in opposition and employ charm to neutralize their antagonism. However, Mr. Mandela was also aware of the fact that being friendly could easily display one’s weak points, which ambitious rivals can easily spot and take advantage. In order to shadow ones vulnerabilities, it is essential to be prepared to counter any probable situation. Listening as a tactic to capture the audience’s attention was another virtue that Mr. Mandela firmly believed in (Lodge, 2006). During his days as a leader, he believed that it was paramount to be a persuasive le...