Forget the buffalo and related bull — tell us who you are, Cyril

Cyril Ramaphosa, in throwing down the gauntlet at a lecture to celebrate Chris Hani's life, entered probably the most awkward era of his political career.

How, for instance, do the president and his deputy conduct affairs of state with such tension between them? One would also love to be a fly on the wall at meetings of the ANC top six.

Ramaphosa cannot go back. He can' t afford to. He needs to charge ahead like a raging bull that has suddenly taken a liking to its foe. The awkwardness comes with the territory. He will have to embrace it.

In fact, that will be the easy part.

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The more demanding assignment will be to define himself. If he doesn't, his enemies will do it for him.

Who is Cyril Ramaphosa? What does he stand for? What is he passionate about? What kind of country does he want to deliver to the next generation?

He has been in public service all his life, but sometimes it feels as though we don't know him that well.

Part of the problem may be the fact that there are so many versions of him. He has played many roles in his life. He has, on the whole, been pretty successful in what he has done, but success can breed contempt.

Ramaphosa's good work may also have been tainted by his hitching a ride on Zuma's odious bandwagon. And that diffidence in the presence of his boss simply grates.

He has a good résumé. A young would-be lawyer who helped found the National Union of Mineworkers and moulded it into the biggest union in South Africa.

He took on the might of the mining industry and led probably the biggest industrial strike in the country's history.

The NUM was also the first union to endorse the Freedom Charter, and in doing so nailed its colours to the ANC mast.

At the time, it was a courageous, even revolutionary, thing to do.

He had accurately read the political winds. Aligning himself with the ANC meant Ramaphosa was rejecting the black consciousness credo, his political home, which was instrumental in the formation of the NUM.

His comrades in the movement saw this as a betrayal. But Ramaphosa was looking ahead.

There's no doubt that the NUM's joining of the charterist camp contributed to an upsurge in support for the banned ANC inside the country and the subsequent decline of black consciousness. It helped reshape the political landscape.

block_quotes_start At a time when the inequalities in our society have taken centre stage, why should the poor vote for a billionaire? block_quotes_end

President FW de Klerk's momentous speech on February 2 1990 unbanning the ANC, the PAC and a plethora of other organisations took many by surprise, not least the ANC.

De Klerk was energised, receiving lots of kudos even from erstwhile enemies of apartheid. There was a realisation that he was going to be a formidable foe in any negotiations.

The ANC, on the other hand, was not only still trying to come to terms with being free, it also had to unite forces that for years had waged the struggle from various locations - in exile and prison and on the home front. Alfred Nzo, its secretary-general, was not the man to do this.

Ramaphosa was elected to succeed Nzo at the ANC's first assembly inside the country, in Durban, and went on to lead negotiations with the regime with some aplomb. His rapport with Roelf Meyer became the stuff of legend and certainly proved to be the glue that kept the two sides talking even under trying circumstances.

Having delivered on the negotiations, Ramaphosa was ready for the next chapter in his life - to succeed Nelson Mandela as president.

Some believe he was naive to think Mandela's word was enough to anoint him. The party, hugely dominated by former exiles, chose Thabo Mbeki.

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So, his ambitions frustrated, Ramaphosa got down to drafting the new constitution. Again, Mbeki stole his thunder, delivering his much-admired "I am an African" speech at the adoption of the constitution.

Ramaphosa licked his wounds and went into business, where his political connections enabled him to amass a huge amount of money.

But that has not been without its problems. He needs to confront those skeletons. He has to explain his role in Marikana, even visit the place. His role in events leading to the massacre may be understandable, but there are those who are genuinely appalled by it. He has to address them. And there is, of course, that gargantuan buffalo, which he never bought but which somehow keeps rearing its ugly head.

At a time when the inequalities in our society have taken centre stage, why should the poor vote for a billionaire? He has to make a convincing case for his candidacy.

Zuma danced his way to the top. That's obviously not Ramaphosa's forté. The other day he prattled on about radical economic transformation. He was unconvincing. That's the language of the looters and their hangers-on.

Tell us who you are, and what's in your heart, what you truly believe. Chart your own course. Don't follow the scoundrels who've already plundered the country, and are seeking a licence to steal some more.