The meaning of a hero

The meaning of a hero

A hero is a person who is admired for having done something very brave or for having achieved something which others have not achieved. He/she is a person who is admired for his/her courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. There are many Africans who are admired and remembered for being heroes and heroines. They are people who are courageous and who have realised outstanding achievements in dealing with the social, economic and political challenges of their nations. A man is known as a hero and a woman is known as a heroine.

Africa has many heroes who resisted neo-colonialism on the continent after independence. Examples of these heroes include:

• Mwl Julius Kambarage Nyerere and Abeid Amani Karume of Tanzania
• Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
• Nelson Mandela of South Africa
• Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya
• Patrice Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Samora Machel of Mozambique
• Keneth Kaunda of Zambia

These are examples of the heroes who were also Heads of State. They resisted colonialism, struggled against neo-colonialism, struggled for freedom and equality, resisted apartheid and opposed all forms of oppression and degradation of Africans. However, these are not the only African heroes. We have other heroes and heroines. There are ordinary men and women who are heroes and heroines and who made important and heroic contributions to their families, communities, villages, wards, districts regions and nations.

Some of Africa's heroes