The Nigerian debacle in November 1995, when President Mandela made a call for strong action against the Nigerian regime at the Commonwealth Summit in Auckland, New Zealand, occurred after lengthy and ineffectual "quiet" diplomacy by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. However, the President had apparently not consulted directly with his regional neighbours prior to his scathing indictment of the Abacha regime and his call for sanctions on Nigeria. Up to then he had apparently been in the habit of doing so, often by telephone, and this included the successful 1994 diplomacy with regard to the "King’s coup" in Lesotho.(52)  The lack of support from his regional counterparts in the Nigerian case would seem to indicate that perhaps in this case he did not consult directly with them prior to his public action. Should this be the reason for failure in this case - rather than its being a case of foreign policy failure - this may illustrate very well the working of the so-called "Mandela magic" so often referred to.(53)  In the case of Nigeria then, a failure of diplomacy - strong action at a summit without prior direct consultation with other African leaders putting the "Mandela magic" to work - may well have led to change in policy - the subsequent weaker stand by South Africa on the issue.(54)