By Rashid Ojikutu
the tenacity of xenophobic violence Post-apartheid South Africa raises painful questions about whether the ideals fought for during liberation have been fully realized. While we blame people like Daniel Francois Malan, President (1948–1954), who justified and intensified the policy of segregation between blacks and whites in South Africa, the National Party and its leadership such as John Vorster, PW Botha and FW de Klerk politically marginalized black South Africans in their own country.
Can we honestly affirm that man's inhumanity to man has stopped in that country? History often judges harshly those who fail to appreciate the sacrifices made on their behalf. As news of xenophobic attacks on other African countries echo and vibrate across the continent, the situation is reminiscent of an African folktale in which a monkey rescues a hungry lion from a ditch, but the lion immediately turns against his rescuer.
Many Africans now feel betrayed by the recurring xenophobic violence in South Africa. Same is the situation in South Africa, Nigeria and many other African countries, but in this case the attackers should understand that the lion has returned to the ditch with the wisdom of the tortoise.
Between 1994 and 2018, 529 xenophobic incidents were recorded, with 309 deaths and 901 attacks. More than 2,193 shops were looted and more than 100,000 people were displaced. These devastating statistics are continuously increasing. Most attacks are carried out against African immigrants to the country, particularly Zimbabweans, Somalis and Nigerians. Apart from rhetoric, the South African government and political leadership have done little to stop the wave of wanton destruction that continues to befall our people.
Affected countries and families of those affected have expressed dismay that a country that received overwhelming support from other African states for its liberation from apartheid is now being subjected to violent attacks against the very fingers that fed them in their time of need. Nigeria in particular played the most important role in the anti-apartheid struggle through diplomatic pressure, financial sacrifice, educational support and moral leadership. The irony of attacks against Africans in democratic South Africa therefore raises difficult questions about institutional and historical memory, along with the suspicion of underlying political manipulation.
In the apartheid era, black South Africans were deprived of political rights, freedom of movement, quality education, and economic opportunities. The abhorrent system classified South Africans by race and enforced segregation in every aspect of life. Black South Africans were forced to move to the “homeland”, denied voting rights and subjected to harsh security laws. Leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Desmond Tutu became symbols of resistance. Nigeria emerged as one of the strongest defenders of black liberation in Africa during this dark period in that country's life.
While inhumane treatment continued, many African countries considered apartheid not just a South African issue, but an attack on African dignity and identity. Nigeria deliberately established anti-apartheid diplomacy as a key component of its foreign policy and a direct attack on the apartheid regime in that country.
From the 1960s to the 1990s, Nigeria devoted vast human and material resources to the liberation of Southern Africa. Successive Nigerian governments supported liberation movements in Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. Nigeria provided funding, scholarships, passports, diplomatic assistance and housing for South African exiles.
The young men and women who are being attacked in South Africa today were fathered by the Nigerian military administration olusegun obasanjo To contribute a portion of their hard-earned monthly salary to the established Southern African Relief Fund (SARF).
Nigerian workers, including civil servants and employees in various sectors, were encouraged and in many cases forced, through payroll deductions and public campaigns, to contribute part of their salaries to support liberation struggles in Southern Africa.
Many Nigerians of that generation, including the author of this article, still remember the slogan “Mandela Tax” or anti-apartheid contribution. School children, market women, workers and students in Nigeria donated money to the liberation campaign.
Nigeria spent millions of dollars in support of anti-apartheid movements. Nigerian diplomats campaigned aggressively for sanctions against the apartheid regime in international organizations such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth, and the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
Nigeria has opened its doors to South African exiles and many ANC leaders and activists have been supported by our government and other local institutions. Oliver Tambo, Tambo Mbeki, Alfred Nzo, Joe Slovo and many members of the ANC and their Youth League were offered travel assistance, financial support and opportunities for political mobilisation. In the 1970s and 1980s, Lagos became an important center of anti-apartheid solidarity. Conferences, rallies and fundraising campaigns were held regularly. Nigerian universities, trade unions, journalists and musicians actively participated in these campaigns. Nigerian artists such as Sunny Okosun released songs condemning apartheid, while writers such as Wole Soyinka spoke out strongly against white supremacy.
Many young South African students (the fathers of those on the streets of South Africa who are wreaking violence on the children of the very people who fed and clothed them during that ugly period in the life of their country) who fled apartheid received scholarships to study at Nigerian universities and secondary schools. Nigeria offered scholarships to young men and women that covered tuition, accommodation, food and living expenses, thereby reflecting Pan-African ideals.
At a time when many countries were unwilling to openly confront the apartheid regime, Nigeria invested heavily in the intellectual development of South African blacks.
Nigeria consistently boycotted international events involving South Africa, using sports, diplomacy and culture as powerful tools to isolate the apartheid regime. A good example of this was the boycott of the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.
Nigeria also supported the Gleneagles Agreement of 1977 within the Commonwealth, which discouraged sporting contact with South Africa. Nigerian diplomacy helped to impose strong sanctions and isolate the apartheid regime internationally.
Beyond sports, Nigeria cut economic and diplomatic ties with companies and institutions linked to apartheid. Nigerian passports reportedly carried a warning against travel to apartheid South Africa. Cultural exchange with the apartheid regime was rejected.
The same people for whom so much was sacrificed are today the enemies of their protectors by resorting to xenophobic attacks on their African brothers. Many South Africans themselves condemned the violence and defended African unity. Religious organisations, civil society groups and student bodies campaigned against xenophobia and called for peaceful co-existence.
One can absolve the generation on the streets because they did not witness the brutality of apartheid firsthand. Therefore, they cannot appreciate the international solidarity that contributed to the liberation of South Africa. This disconnect between past and present is what is currently creating bitterness among some Africans who feel betrayed by xenophobic violence. Instead of standing akimbo while their children are immolating South Africa's friends, South African leadership must mobilize the youth for historical education, youth engagement and continental dialogue because we must not forget that Africa's future depends on cooperation rather than division. The sacrifices made during the anti-apartheid struggle should serve as a reminder that African liberation was achieved collectively. Remembering this shared history is essential to maintaining peace, dignity and unity across the continent.
It should be clear to all South Africans that the land of Nigeria is big enough to take back our migrant children, but those who hurt our psyche always get their revenge. When in November 1969, the government of Kofi Abrefa Busia in Ghana passed the Aliens Compliance Order (1969) and consequently expelled thousands of Nigerians from Ghana, that country did not realize that the time of withdrawal would come. Today there is a bag in our country called “Ghana Must Go”. This phrase which comes into daily use in Nigeria is linked to the mass expulsion of Ghanaian immigrants from Nigeria in the early 1980s. History reminds us that actions between neighboring African societies often leave long memories and lasting consequences.
South African leaders must take decisive action before outrage deepens across the continent.
Africa's future depends not on division or hostility, but on preserving the solidarity that sustained the anti-apartheid struggle. The sacrifices made by many African countries, particularly Nigeria, should remain a lasting reminder that the liberation of South Africa was a collective African achievement.
• Rasheed Ojikutu is Professor of Statistics (Retd.) at the University of Lagos.