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| This combination photo shows President Muhammadu Buhari and South Africa’s new President, Cyril Ramaphosa (Ramaphosa photo: AFP) |
President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated
South Africa’s new President Cyril Ramaphosa on his election and inauguration
as Jacob Zuma’s successor.
Ramaphosa was
elected by South Africa’s parliament on Thursday and sworn in shortly after,
day after scandal-hit Jacob Zuma was forced to resign.
Following his
inauguration, President Buhari is keen to work with him.
“Congratulations
also to the African National Congress (ANC), and the Government and people of
South Africa, on the peaceful transfer of power that resulted in the election
of President Ramaphosa,” President Buhari tweeted in reaction to the
development.
While
congratulating Ramaphosa, President Buhari said he “looks forward to working
with the new President of South Africa to enhance cooperation of the
Governments of Africa’s two leading economies”.
In a statement
by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu,
President Buhari wished Zuma well in his future endeavours.
“The Nigerian
leader salutes the leadership and statesmanship of former President Jacob Zuma,
and wishes him the best in his future endeavours,” the statement read in part.
Rise of Ramaphosa
In the course
of his 65 years, Cyril Ramaphosa has experienced the poverty of Soweto, jail
for fighting apartheid, trade union activism, fabulous wealth — and now the
ultimate prize of South African politics, the presidency itself.
He reached the
goal on Thursday after forcing out Jacob Zuma, a longtime master of political
survival, in a strategy that combined long-term vision, stealth and backroom
skills.
That feat, say
analysts, bears all the hallmarks of the bald, stocky Ramaphosa — pragmatism,
patience and use of the inside track.
He was born on
November 17, 1952 in Johannesburg’s Soweto township — a centre of the
anti-apartheid struggle — to a police sergeant and a domestic worker.
He took up
activism while studying law in the 1970s, and spent 11 months in solitary
confinement. Nelson Mandela himself once described Ramaphosa as one of the most
gifted leaders of the “new generation” — the young campaigners who filled the
void left by their jailed elders.
After studying,
Ramaphosa turned to trade unionism — one of the few legal ways of protesting
against the white-minority regime.
He founded the
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 1982 which grew to have 300,000 members
and led massive strikes in 1987 that shook the foundations of white rule.
When Mandela
was released in 1990 after 27 years in prison for opposing apartheid, Ramaphosa
was by his side and soon rose to wider prominence.
He played a key
role in steering the negotiations to a peaceful transition to democracy and
then led the group that drew up the country’s new constitution, famed for its
pledges to justice and equality.
Wilderness years
Ramaphosa’s
destiny seemed pre-ordained.
But in 1999,
his hopes of winning the top job were dashed when he failed to clinch the
nomination of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to succeed Mandela.
True to his
practical nature, Ramaphosa bowed out of politics and opted for a life in
business.
He held stakes
in McDonald’s and Coca-Cola’s local ventures and made millions in deals that
required investors to partner with non-white shareholders.
He became one
of the richest men on the continent — reaching number 42 on the Forbes list of
Africa’s wealthiest people in 2015 with a net worth of $450 million (383
million euros).
Ramaphosa
returned to the political fray in 2012 when he was elected to the ANC’s number
two post.
Two years
later, he became deputy president of the nation, but was forced into a careful
balancing act.
He had both to
serve Zuma — tarred by accusations of corruption and incompetence — and also
deliver occasional, cautious criticism of his political boss.
Ramaphosa was
never the target of any graft accusations himself — but his political
ambivalence and vast wealth led to criticism.
Mmusi Maimane,
leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, said Ramaphosa’s
acquiescence made him “at best a silent deputy president, and at worst a
complicit one”.
In 2012, his
image took a battering when 34 striking mine workers were killed by police at
the Marikana platinum mine, operated by London-listed Lonmin, where he was then
a non-executive director.
Shortly before
the massacre — the worst police killing since the end of apartheid — Ramaphosa
had called for a crackdown on the strikers, whom he accused of “dastardly
criminal” behaviour.
Smear campaign?
Ramaphosa has
four children with his second wife Tshepo Motsepe, a doctor, who is the sister
of fellow tycoon Patrice Motsepe.
He was accused
in 2017 of having affairs with several young women, which he denied.
Ramaphosa did
admit to an extramarital affair but told local media that he had since
disclosed the relationship to his wife.
Some saw the
sudden revelations as a smear campaign by associates of Zuma who feared
Ramaphosa’s rise.
But the
scandal’s impact was brief. As the smell of scandal around Zuma intensified and
threatened ANC’s rule in the 2019 elections, Ramaphosa made his tilt for the
top job.
At an ANC
conference last December, he narrowly won against Zuma’s ex-wife Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma as party leader — the stepping stone to the nation’s presidency,
which is chosen by the governing party.
Critics
characterised Dlamini-Zuma as a puppet who would shield Zuma after he left
office.
Eschewing a
frontal attack, Ramaphosa ran his campaign on pledges to fight corruption,
rebuild the economy, boost growth and create desperately-needed jobs.
“Our ability to
overcome these challenges has been undermined over the last decade by a failure
of leadership and misguided priorities,” he said.
“For the first
time since the advent of democracy, there is a real chance that the
transformation of our country may suffer significant reverses.”
‘Inside game’
In the
following weeks, as Zuma dug in his heels, Ramaphosa rallied support within the
ANC, sidelined Zuma’s backers and finally forced the president’s resignation.
Zuma
reluctantly pronounced his exit on Wednesday.
But by becoming
president, Ramphosa must now match his well-established patience and strategic
skills with leadership qualities, analysts caution.
“Ramaphosa has
no association with any of the corruption scandals that have plagued South
Africa,” wrote his biographer Ray Hartley in “The Man Who Would Be King”.
“But the years
he spent at Zuma’s side, playing the ‘inside game’ suggest he is more
comfortable as a powerful insider than as a radical reformer.”