"I grew up in the knowledge that South Africa was the worst country on earth. Even though some of that certainty would later be confirmed, as I stood on the grounds of the Union Building in Pretoria amid a "rainbow" of humanity, nothing seemed further from the truth. This miraculous country presents its twin truths as an awkward juxtaposition of the best and the worst that our world has to offer."

Award-winning Nigerian photographer Jide Adeniyi-Jones offered these reflections in 1994 after driving across South Africa during the first days of democracy. As he traveled across the country he documented the experiences of millions of newly enfranchised and empowered people, as well as the hope and apprehension of that transitional time. Jide recently revisited these decade-old photographs and selected some for this allAfrica.com photoessay.

"I have no idea where the South African journey will go, but they are on the road, and what a glorious start."