Nigeria is handling South Africa’s Afrophobia shoddily

The Lebanese, Pakistanis, Indians, Chinese and other nationals are found in large numbers in South Africa. They control different segments of commerce wherever they reside. But no matter how much South Africans feel angry with immigrants in their country, they never attack the Asians, Europeans, Americans, North Africans or even White South Africans. They always attack only Black Africans. Yet in North Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, the people easily rise in one way or the other against Black African migrants in their land. This has remained thus for decades.

South Africans are not alone in this. Across Black Africa, the same scenario obtains. In Nigeria, it happens. The part of Nigeria where non-indigenes have been attacked repeatedly is Northern Nigeria. In all the attacks on non-indigenes which started on June 22, 1945, Asians, Americans, Europeans have never been attacked in the North.

This is caused by the oppressed mentality, which is also described as the slave mentality. The oppressed (or slaves) are usually afraid of harming the oppressor (or master). They would rather attack their fellow members of the oppressed family than the oppressors. The oppressed are weak and disadvantaged. The opportunities available to them are limited. They struggle to have access to those opportunities. Whenever they see their fellow oppressed people having what they see as a better deal, they do everything possible to attack and pull such people down, so that all of them will lie prostrate.

Explaining why many Nigerians do not tell their friends and family members that they are about to travel out of Nigeria, a friend told a true-life story that illustrates this oppressed mentality. A young man who was popular in their neighbourhood invited his friends to his home where he lived in a room in a part of Lagos and announced to them that he had got a visa to a European country and also a flight ticket. They celebrated with him and drank the drinks he provided. A few days later when he brought out his passport in preparation for his imminent trip, he discovered that the page containing the visa had been ripped off. He was devastated. Later, he discovered that it was his best friend who drank with him that came back afterwards to cut off the visa page. His anger was that if his friend travelled out, life would be better for him and he would be much ahead of him. So, it was better for all of them to remain in their dreary condition.

Similarly, many people usually ridicule women with the sexist line: “Women are their own worst enemies!” Men have cornered most opportunities in the world and determined the moral tones and values of the world. It was only some decades ago that women were allowed to vote in many countries of the world or own property or stand surety for people in court. In some countries, women still do not vote or drive vehicles. For centuries, women have been psychologically made to believe that they are inferior to men. Anytime a woman is made the president or prime minister of a country, she is celebrated, because it is an unusual occurrence. So, whenever a woman is contesting an election, in most cases, women (who are usually in the majority) would rather vote for a man than the woman. The thinking is: “Why should you, a fellow oppressed person, be the one to hold this position that we have not held?”

Another thing that has exacerbated the Afrophobia in South Africa is the subtle narrative created by politicians of the ruling African National Congress. During the apartheid struggle, Black South Africans were made to believe that once freedom was achieved, life would be better for them. However, since 1994 when the ANC took over in South Africa, the economy has not fared well as expected. To divert attention from themselves, the ANC leaders have been sustaining the narrative that the absence of the good life for South Africans is caused by Black African immigrants, who have stolen all the available jobs and destroyed their country with crimes.

Sadly, Nigeria has not reacted well to these attacks. When the wave of attacks started two weeks ago, the Nigerian government issued a statement that Nigeria would send an envoy to South Africa to discuss the matter with the country. It was seen as tepid. Later when Nigerians took the law into their own hands and began reprisals on organisations in Nigeria with links to South Africa, an untrue story from government-owned News Agency of Nigeria was circulated to the media to the effect that Nigeria had cancelled its participation in the World Economic Forum holding in South Africa and also recalled its high commissioner to South Africa.

That news gladdened the hearts of many Nigerians that finally, the country had taken an action that showed its displeasure with the attack on Black Africans. However, later, it was found out that the news story was false. The Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffery Onyeama, explained that Nigeria was waiting for its envoy to return and give a report to President Muhammadu Buhari before an action would be taken on the recall of the high commissioner. It was clear that the news story from NAN was planted to deceive the Nigerian public. The presidency also announced that Buhari would visit South Africa next month to discuss the matter with the South African president.

That weekend, news filtered in that another wave of attacks on Black African immigrants had resumed in South Africa. It is obvious that these attacks will not stop anytime soon. Bullies think like terrorists. They don’t listen to reason, logic, pleas, rebuke, or silence. The more you lament, beg or debate or even forgive them, the more they attack you. Pleading with South Africa will not stop Afrophobia. Reasoning with them will not stop it. Sending an envoy to discuss the matter with them is useless. As far as South Africans are concerned, they are fighting against a new form of apartheid: Black African immigrants who have taken over their country and cornered all their jobs and women and made South Africans poor. To them, these attacks on Black Africans are like a call to duty to sanitise their country. So in the months ahead, the attacks will occur again and again.

The only thing that can stop the attacks is to hit South Africa so hard that the people come back to their senses and become afraid of touching any foreigner or foreigner’s business in their country. Nigeria is seen as the biggest African country (with a large population in South Africa) that can lead that charge.

Recalling Nigeria’s high commissioner to South Africa is an option. Expelling South Africa’s ambassador is another option. Taking South Africa to the International Court of Justice, as recommended by a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, is an option. Leading other African countries to get South Africa suspended from the African Union is another option. It does not matter whether South Africa retaliates or not. It does not matter if it causes Nigerians some loss of jobs or discomfort. When apartheid was on and the Western leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were arguing that slamming sanctions on South Africa would hurt the masses, ANC and others argued that they wanted sanctions applied, even if they would suffer. When you plan to solve a big problem, you should not focus on short-term losses or discomfort.

It is only when Nigeria and other African countries hit South Africa hard and isolate it that the despicable act of Afrophobia can stop. It is only when the South African government feels the heat that it can rein in its people.