by Adeola Balogun

Former South African President and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela died yesterday at the age of 95.

From the moment news broke on air and online, everyone who’s anyone that could get word out was paying tribute to the legend that was Mandela.

Here on YNaija, we take a closer look on how some world leaders reacted.

President Barack Obama :

We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. So it falls to us as best we can to forward the example that he set: to make decisions guided not by hate, but by love; to never discount the difference that one person can make; to strive for a future that is worthy of his sacrifice.

For now, let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived — a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice. May God Bless his memory and keep him in peace.”

UK Prime Minister David Cameron:

A great light has gone out in the world. Nelson Mandela was a towering figure in our time; a legend in life and now in death – a true global hero. Across the country he loved they will be mourning a man who was the embodiment of grace. Meeting him was one of the great honours of my life.”

Secretary General Ban Ki Moon :

“Nelson Mandela was a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration.

Prince William:

“We were just reminded what an extraordinary and inspiring man Nelson Mandela was”.

Desmond Tutu:

“He was a unifier from the moment he walked out of prison. He taught us how to come together and believe in ourselves.”

Tutu also said in a statement: “God was so good to us in South Africa by giving us Nelson Mandela to be our President at a crucial moment in our history.

“He inspired us to walk the path of forgiveness and reconciliation and so South Africa did not go up in flames. Thank you God, for this wonderful gift who became a moral colossus, a global icon of forgiveness and reconciliation. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”

President Jacob Zuma:

“Fellow south Africans our beloved Nelson Mandela, the founding president of our democratic nation has died. He passed on peacefully in the company of his family around 20:50 on the December 5, 2013

“Our nation has lost his greatest son. Our people have lost a father.”

“Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss,” Zuma told the nation.

President Goodluck Jonathan :

“Mandela’s indefatigable spirit will continue to inspire present and future generations of Africans.”