• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Xenophobia: When South Africa ‘sinned’ … a diplomatic row ensued

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If there is one news item that has trended on social media and reported in the print version more than any issue in recent time, it is the recent xenophobic attacks.

Going by Google analytics, in just four days, xenophobia has been searched 27, 700,000 (twenty seven million, seven hundred thousand) times by people across the world seeking to catch-up with the ugly development in some parts of South Africa.

As at today, many African countries are protesting the killings of other Africans and destruction of their properties by their South African brothers. Some countries like Rwanda, DRC Congo, and Malawi boycotted the World Economic Forum in Cape Town in protest to the killings, others like Nigeria have gone ahead to recall their ambassadors to South Africa, issuing travel advisory, corporates and individuals are calling off trips amid blockade of South African drivers along the Southern-Eastern Africa highways.

With the many killings, lootings and destruction of properties in some parts of South Africa this September, flags should be flying at half-mast across the continent because Africa is bleeding from stabbings by one of her own.

While Africa cannot throw away the baby with the bathwater, the successive governments in the country (apart from Nelson Mandela) are to be blamed for providing poor leadership, which has overtime resulted in uneven development, and lack of confidence by the people who are now taking laws in the hands.

Sadly, xenophobia would have been a thing of the past if government had taken decisive action when it first reared its ugly head in January 1995 in Alexandra Township outside of Johannesburg, when armed youth gangs destroyed homes and properties of migrants and marched the victims to the local police station, demanding the immediate deportation of the foreigners.

Those youths who started these avoidable attacks are probably living large and free today to witness series of more violent attacks across the country in 1998, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

But the attacks have continued in spite of several promises of safety and prosecution of culprits, which the South African government never kept until this current episode that Africa is fiercely rising up against.

In view of the fact that over the years, many of the victims of the attacks have been Nigerians, the Nigerian government has received many bashings from her citizens at home and abroad for not taking decisive action to protect her citizens and assert her leadership role in Africa, instead always referring to her foreign policy that seek to protect other African countries’ interest before her own.

At the height of the killing of Nigerians abroad, Bola Akinterinwa, a professor and former, director general, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, lamented that Nigerians abroad have continued to be the target of attacks because they were not protected by the nation’s foreign policy.

In the 2013 xenophobic attacks, former President Goodluck Jonathan signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Africa to re-enforce diplomatic ties, yet the attacks continued. In 2015, the Senate Committee on Diaspora came up with a motion on the floor of the Senate on the matter, but no action followed their deliberations.

Senator Rose Oko, the Senate Committee Chairman on Diaspora, then urged the Federal Government to take harder stance against South Africa, as well, Rita Orji, the then chairman, House Committee on Diaspora Matters, decried the Federal Government’s attitude towards the protection of Nigerians outside the country, saying the government paid more attention to remittances from citizens abroad than their welfare.

The lawmakers vowed that even if the government decided to keep quiet in the midst of the incessant attacks on Nigerians, especially in South Africa, they would not keep mute, but more Nigerians died the following year in another series of attacks and nothing happened, even the MoU did not help.

 But the country seems to have woken from her slumber in the face of the present attack, especially with the recalling of the Nigerian ambassador to South Africa, issuance of travel advisory, boycott of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cape Town, offer to evacuate Nigerians resident in the country with Air Peace offering to fly them back, threat of sanctions, among others expected to be announced if the meeting of the Special Envoy of President Muhammadu Buhari with the South African president did not bear good fruit.

It seems everybody has woken up. On Wednesday, Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), fired from all cylinders, calling on the Federal Government to fight back using diplomatic tools, particularly nationalising South African businesses in Nigeria.

“In order to send a very strong message to South African authorities and the South African people, it is worth it for the Nigerian government to take steps to take over the remaining shares of MTN that are owned by South Africans so that MTN becomes fully Nigeria-owned.

“If Nigeria decides at least for the next 30 days to stop using MTN, they would have sent a clear message,” the party chairman said during an emergency National Working Committee (NWC) meeting of the ruling party in Abuja.

Some people, who bought the nationalisation idea of the APC chairman, said a complete takeover of businesses owned by South Africans in Nigeria would force the country to take the needed action to stop attacks on other Africans in their country.

They think government can start by revoking the licenses granted to banks owned by the South Africans in the country.

“After Independence, Nigeria nationalised all British Companies in the country and the ‘Great Britain’ did not go to war, So, we can do same with South Africa and nothing will happen”, Michael Atama, a lwayer said.

In same vein, top Nigerian business executives who were at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, were seen rushing to catch their flights back to Nigeria on hearing the issuance of travel advisory by the Nigerian government.  Observers noted that this is happening for the first time, but should be sustained now the wound is still fresh in order to force the South African government to take actions that would put a stop to xenophobia in the country.

“We should no longer sacrifice our own national interest just because we want to be the big brother of a people that do not recognise the role, the enormous and the huge sacrifices that other countries made over the years to protect and defend the interest of black South Africans and the African continent”, one of them said.

Of course, South African businesses are getting heavy punches from supposedly customers across Africa. From Zambia, Tanzania to Nigeria, South African brands and franchise shops are closed to curtail evasions, looting and destructions by angry mob who are going violent in their protests against the September xenophobia attacks, regarded as the worst ever because of the huge human casualties and loss of properties worth millions of dollars.

With the ensuing development, it seems more African countries are going to isolate South Africa this time, and sadly offering her the opportunity to walk alone and probably back to her old shackles and chains.

 While that may sound impossible in this 21st century, many people argue that it is only political freedom that is secured in the country as sadly; the economy is still in hands of the whites South Africans.

Again, the sad thing for many observers is that South Africa, which many African nations made different sacrifices that aided her freedom and the end of the infamous apartheid regime by the white occupiers in 1994, is now turning against fellow African brothers.

Mark Izembi, a Zimbabwean history lecturer, explained that if there is place black people should call home in the world, it should be South Africa because of the love other Africans showered on them during their most difficult era in history.

“I think xenophobia is a show of ungratefulness to other Africans, while the whites who killed their ancestors are free on the African soil”, he said.

However, the history lecturer blamed the sustained xenophobic attacks on the failure of black South African leaders to tell the younger generation the sacrifices of other African countries that helped in freeing them from the racist apartheid regime.

“I think history is no longer taught in schools today. If it is taught, the curriculum should be broadened to meet African specifics and not tailored to suit the half-baked stories of the western world”, he suggested.

But in the case that the younger generation were taught and they refuse to learn, recognise and appreciate the good gestures of other Africans, Ferdinand Adama, a Nigerian resident in South Africa, said the government should have taken decisive action at the first attack in 1995 to stop further occurrence.

“If the youth gangs who started it were prosecuted then, nobody will hear of xenophobia today. Somehow, they were celebrated and now the situation is out of hand, hence the series of attacks”, Adama said.

For those who argue that the perpetrators were attacking foreigners for taking their jobs, Prince Agaye, a Ghanaian spray painter, cried out in self-made video after his mechanic workshop, which employed over 10 South African youths, was burnt by the attackers.

“I offered them job, pay all dues, and befriend them, yet they watch their brothers burn our workshop. They will go back to the streets, where most of them came from, while I return to Ghana”, the auto painter lamented.

He is more concerned about those who have impressed him on the job because with no workshop to hone their craft and earn a living, they may likely go back to the streets.

“My worry is not for the over 20 cars the owners brought for repairs, which were burnt, because everybody witnessed the attacks. I am concerned about the boys who I think are good on the job. They will be vulnerable to crime if they are not engaged for some time,” he said.

Agaye’s worry is part of the post xenophobia impact on the poor local economy, coupled with the growing level of unemployment.

But the impact is going to spread to the economy of the entire country if citizens of other African countries heed to the travel advisory and several boycott calls.

Currently, Tiwa Savage, a Nigerian singer and songwriter, who was billed to perform at the DStv Delicious International Food and Music Festival this September, has called off the concert in solidarity with the victims of the recent xenophobia attacks in South Africa.

The songstress, who was born as Tiwatope Savage joined the protest on twitter and gave reason for calling off the concert in South Africa on her twitter handle; @TiwaSavage, saying, “I refuse to watch the barbaric butchering of my people in SA. This is SICK. For this reason I will NOT be performing at the upcoming DSTV delicious Festival in Johannesburg on the 21st of September. My prayers are with all the victims and families affected by this”.

Aside the DStv Delicious festival, the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz (JOJ) is also taking place this month-September 26-28 at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

As well, Etuk Ubong (Nigeria) and Kyekyeku (Ghana) are two West African jazz artistes who are among the line-up of artistes for the jazz concert.

Already, fans of Etuk Ubong are calling on him to call off the event in South Africa as Tiwa Savage did, while Ghanaian fans of Kyekyeku are expected to do same in solidarity with the victims of the September xenophobia attack, especially fellow West Africans who lost properties and lives while the attacks lasted.

However, musicians from countries in the Southern African Region (SADEC), especially Zambia and Zimbabwe are also calling off jobs in South Africa for now.

This is a bad trend for the South African and African music industry as artistes begin to reject offers that ordinarily would have impacted their career, the industry and the African economy at large.

While most Africa music artistes are likely going to shun events in South Africa, also artistes from the country would be scared stepping out to other African countries for fear of being mobbed.

Yesterday, the organisers of the 16th Abuja International Film Festival suspended all South African film entries submitted for the festival.

Fidelis Duker, the founder of the festival, said the painful decision was in solidarity with the global outcry against xenophobia and call for boycott South African products and services in Nigeria.

With the development, South African filmmakers whose films were expected to win big at the awards slated this October are going to lose out.

As well, tour operators and travel agencies are crying as the travel advisory issued by Nigeria is already working against South Africa with many clients canceling their trips to South Africa. If nothing is done to assure safety of other Africans in South Africa, more people will be looking elsewhere for holiday, education and business while flights will begin to decline, leaving most airlines, especially South African Airways, which is struggling, with empty seats.

 “Knowing that South Africa is a holiday destination, the country should have done whatever it takes to ensure safety of visitors. Now, Africans that constitutes 70 percent of their tourist arrivals are not coming again. The numbers from traditional markets of Europe and Asia are declining because of Brexit and trade wars. South Africa should have been smart enough not to spill African blood on her soil no matter the level of provocation”, Tunji Amoda, a tour operator said.

According to Hajia Bilkisu Abdul, national president, Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) and founder/CEO, BBOOG Travels and Tours, South Africa has proven to be unsafe and tour operators cannot take clients to unsafe destinations because they are paying money to enjoy good experiences and not to be killed.

Religious tourism is also impacted as many South Africans planning to visit some Nigerian churches on pilgrimage, particularly The Synagogue run by Prophet Temitope B. Joshua in Lagos, are likely going to call off the trips, as well, Nigerian pastors billed to preach in South Africa this time are likely going to call off the trips.

However, the recent attacks have resulted in huge economic losses on the part of the victims, and especially South African businesses across Africa.

In Nigeria, many aggrieved citizens made attempts at breaking into MTN shops, DStv offices and even targeting some branches of Stanbic IBTC Bank. Investors of MTN Nigeria Plc. have lost about N40 billion in two days over xenophobic attacks.

The most impacts were at Shoprite stores at the Lekki Mall, Abuja, Ibadan and other places where aggrieved mob attacked, some looted items and others threw any object in sight at the stores just to express their displeasure over the killings of fellow Africans in some parts of South Africa.

The attack at the Lekki Mall resulted in one casualty. The reprisal attacks on some South African businesses in the country was further fueled by the comments of some politicians such as Orji Uzor Kalu, a senator, who said recently that MTN, DSTV, Shoprite deserve to be shut down, if attacks on Nigerians persist.

On an interview he granted to Sahara Reporters, Kalu said: “If the South African government does not do more to protect the lives of Nigerians, there should be no reason to allow them to operate freely in Nigeria. All their enterprises deserve to be closed down including MTN, DSTV, Shoprite, among others”.

It would be recalled that MTN Nigeria had, on Wednesday, confirmed attacks on its offices, saying that all MTN stores and service centres would be closed until further notice.

The company stated this in a letter sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by its Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah. Ukpanah, in the letter, confirmed that over the last day, “our facilities, customers and some of our stakeholders have been the subject of attacks in retaliation for the ongoing xenophobia situation in South Africa.”

He said that the company had confirmed reports of attacks in Lagos, Ibadan and Uyo, hence all the stores and service centres would be closed until further notice.

“While we remain committed to providing uninterrupted services, the safety and security of our customers, members of staff and partners is our primary concern.

“All MTN stores and service centres will, therefore, be closed as a precaution, until further notice,” Ukpanah stated. As well, DStv, a sister company, is partially closed as most customers are urged to go online for their transactions.

Stanbic IBTC Bank branches across Nigeria are now heavily guarded by armed security.

Elsewhere in Zambia, aggrieved citizens have also attacked Shoprite outlets, as well as, in Johannesburg were some attackers broke in to loot from the shop’s outlet.

 

OBINNA EMELIKE