Our souls can dance in this life thanks to OR’s compassion and humility
THIS is Tambo’s year. Oliver Reginald Tambo that is.
He was the big boss in the ANC when I joined in the 1980s.
Between you and me, the ANC of that time was not just a hier jy movement. No. It was also not just one of those gatherings either.
Honestly, the ANC is just a bit underrated to be limited to the narrow corners of “organisation”. It is not merely an “organisation”… It is a movement.
It’s a dynamic movement and one of the oldest in the world, but definitely the oldest in this nation, South Africa.
With historical embarrassment, I suspect it is the oldest in South Africa. It was born 105 years ago. That is damn old, ek sê. Oliver Tambo became its president in its mid-age. He also made sure that the organisation/movement gained a respectable face and montage in the history of democratic movements.
The reason was the humility of the likes of Tambo, who led and guided the movement with an ethos bigger than a political leader and guide.
Sometimes it is our humility that guides the depths of us. He had a deep humility.
I remember listening to Radio Freedom one night when my Christian friends enquired when they could join the ANC.
I was at pains to explain that OR was not from a religious concern, but his convictions were deeper than many moments in religion.
I joined the movement in the 1980s in Lesotho because I was convinced by OR Tambo’s humility.
Later, I met his son Dali, who interviewed me in a programme for the SABC. I admired the Tambo blood in the arrangement of the discourse.
Of course Dali Tambo does not sound like a chap from Qumbu or Lady Frere. No, he sounds like a chap from London. I don’t know if his accent has changed or not.
Long time no see, if you know what I mean.
Between you and me, Mama Adelaide Tambo also made an impression on me.
Sometimes I thought she wrote many of OR’s speeches, but I wouldn’t say that to anybody.
I don’t like revolutionary accidents.
But hey, shouldn’t countries like ours commemorate the Tambos with a special day on the calendar? Just to explain how much we like freedom…
This would help the world to know that we like being free. Okay, the ouens in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain don’t help us make the point clearly, but that is because they don’t really know OR.
He was also not just a figure for places like that. He was a national person. He was the leader of the ANC when this country was liberated. We therefore must give him an honour above a cliché.
I know we can do that, because I want us to do that. I think it is easier to celebrate Oliver Tambo than BJ Vorster, and you know that too. Well, I don’t think we should get Pik Botha’s opinion on this.
I am also suggesting that the arts and culture community should come up with a suggestion on how to celebrate Tambo and the great and tender moments that decorate our lives in this space called our land.
Let me emphasise that this is not merely a national moment, but an opportunity to boast about the majesty of human life.
This is an opportunity to demonstrate to humanity that human beings are not just human, they are immensely charming in their dance for life.
Remember when we used to sing freedom songs and our elders used to say we are singing “Oliver Tambo’s songs”. And they would hum along when they did not see a nearby police van or a policeman.
Without developing a scream in my voice, I want to ululate that we show a deeper depth in cheering the gallantry of our past in fighting the narrow essences of racism.
We are an exhibition of the successes of non-racialism, and many human beings like Oliver Tambo are beacons that demonstrate the beauty of this thing called life.
Days and moments like these are reminders of the many nectars that await our positive dance with life.
True, we have challenges that this continent will remind us of. We do, however, have the readiness that is necessary for the life ahead.
Deep in my heart I also have the charming arrogance that says elegance is invincible.
I know I’m not invincible, but I want to be invincible like OR Tambo… He is long gone, but the world and his country’s humility still beg for his presence.
I’m also sure we can engage the Tambo family in a way that shows a deeper than liberal appreciation for the role their father played in the exhibition of that deep compassion we have for the human soul.