The passing of Nelson Mandela, I think, should give us a chance to correct the error of over-emphasizing the importance of individual leaders, rather than persist in it. An analysis of his administration, the policies of the ANC, and so forth, and the extent to which Mandela actually transformed the situation on the ground in South Africa, are all thing that are about as important as they are overlooked.
It is relevant to us, of course, in the context of the ongoing revolutionary movements in the Arab world. The example of Mandela and the ANC should let us know that for an opposition movement to get into government is not the same thing as succeeding in achieving its stated goals.