In the late hours of Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 187 Nigerians arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on board Air Peace from South Africa, following increasing spate of xenophobic attacks unleashed on Nigerians and other black foreign nationals living in the former Apartheid enclave.
This followed an order by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 9 to evacuate Nigerians who are willing to return home from South Africa, after ceaseless attacks by South African mobs. The president had given this order after receiving information from the special envoy he sent to the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Nigerian government had on Tuesday September 3, summoned the South African Acting High Commissioner to Nigeria, Bobby Moroe to explain the reasons behind the attacks and the envoy denied they were motivated by xenophobia. He nonetheless condemned the attacks as the handiwork of hoodlums and assured his government’s determination to address the matter and deal with the culprits.
No sooner was this diplomatic posturing over than renewed attacks were unleashed on Nigerians questioning the sincerity of the South African Government to tame the hoodlums.
However, the persistent attacks against Nigerians elicited heightened reaction from some Nigerians who in a paroxysm of outrage attacked some South African business interests in Nigeria. The popular Shoprite outlets were attacked and looted in Lagos and Abuja.
This controversy has indeed opened a new vista in the diplomatic relations of Nigeria and South Africa and other countries of the world as it concerns Nigeria’s Foreign Policy as some have called for a more robust Nigerian- centered foreign policy.
Nigeria’s current Foreign Policy focuses on Africa as its centerpiece. In the sixties and seventies, the country was very forceful in championing the cause of Africa and the Third World. Nigeria was a frontline state in the liberation and independence struggles and the general emancipation of Africa from the clutch oppressive rule.
In South Africa during the fight against Apartheid, Nigeria spent nearly 60 billion dollars to free South from the chokehold of Apartheid. In Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 90s, Nigeria contributed immensely to the peace keeping operations through the ECOMOG. In blood, tears and sweat Nigeria took the burden of other African countries on its shoulders and made even more financial commitments. In Angola Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia, Nigeria was at the center of the fight for freedom.
Therefore, it was disturbing to see how Nigerians are being treated in South Africa to which it had sacrifice much.
Expectedly, the reactions from Nigerians have been bitter. That is why there are stringent calls for a shift in Nigeria’s foreign policy which at the moment portrays the country as offering unrequited generosity to other nations after which she is jilted and its citizens humiliated.
The current government of Nigeria has initiated “Citizen Diplomacy” as a component of its foreign policy. This programme is intended to protect the interest of Nigerian people wherever they may be around the world, protect them and provide them opportunities that abound in other countries to grow business.
A source in the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Nigeria’s contributions to other countries appear not to be yielding the desired results, as they often treat Nigerians poorly. “We must begin to fundamental change our foreign policy to reflect our vital national interests. That is what serious nation’s do,” he said.
Speaking to BDSUNDAY on this development, public affairs analyst, Majeed Dahiru, said henceforth, Nigeria must begin to take tough stance against countries that treat its citizens in such a shabby way.
He said Nigeria has to take very tough stance against xenophobia because it appears as though the political establishments of South Africa are trying to excuse their failure to better the lives of the majority of black South Africans in over 20 years of the end of apartheid rule.
“They are excusing their failure on the influx of immigrants into their country. So it has become like opium for their people to simply blame fellow poor black Africans from neighboring countries for their problem rather than the political leadership that has not been able to create opportunities and expand access to prosperity for their own people by distributing wealth in a manner that takes care of the majority.
“So for them it is a convenient political alibi for this to continue to happen and that is why you have not seen any concerted efforts either by the ANC leadership or the government itself to rein in their people over these dastardly acts. Therefore diplomacy will not solve the problem for the failure of the ANC leadership to provide economic freedom for their people,” he said.
He advised the Nigerian government to as matter of fact temporarily suspend diplomatic ties with South Africa and recall its ambassador to South Africa and as well expel their own ambassador to Nigeria. He said that will allow Nigerians to renegotiate the terms of bilateral agreements and relationships going forward.
“We need to review the terms of our relationships. This is not the time for political solidarity but economic realism. We must stand for our people because this is one death too many. It has become habitual and that is because we have not been reacting as a responsible country that cares for its people. They take that as a leverage to continue to do the same thing over and over. So, we need to sever diplomatic ties with South Africa temporarily to show our seriousness in this matter. This issue cannot be resolved through negotiations because it something that has become useful to them there,” he said.
Katch Ononuju (PhD), a public intellectual, accused successive South African political leadership to the current President Cyril Ramaphosa of diverting attention with the crisis, adding that all the promises made by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) have not been fulfilled since they came to power in 1994.
“ANC has failed to meet those expectations. And instead of finding a solution to the problem they want to blame their inability to meet the promises on black foreign population”, he said.
He blamed the harsh economic conditions in Nigeria as one of the factors fueling migration of Nigerians to other parts of the world to seek greener pastures.
Contributing, Charles Onunaiju, director of the Centre for China Studies, attributed the attacks to “the consequences of failed expectations” in South Africa anti-Apartheid struggle was supposed to be a revolutionary movement; it generated too much expectation from the ordinary people. So the mass of the ordinary workers, peasants were brought into the struggle with huge expectations.
“Unfortunately, like in every other anti-colonial struggle in Africa, the fruits fell into the hands of few elite. So, the ordinary people are letting out steam through any means including these attacks,” he said.
He warned that the attacks will not stop despite the diplomatic efforts, saying that violent tendencies don’t obey orders and cannot be contained by fiat because the problems are emblematic of socio-economic paralysis.
“It is an objective consequence of failed expectations by South African ordinary people. They take it out on the nearest targets which are foreigners,” he added.
He warned Nigerians living in the country to take measures to protect themselves. “The only thing that Nigerians in that country must understand is that the country is reaching a boiling point and they should also take measures to secure themselves because the attacks will linger for a very long time,” he said.
Innocent Odoh
