Xenophobia, anger and beyond

Something very interesting is happening at the two ends of the African continent. It is migration. At the northern end, migrants are streaming out to Europe. And the consequences are dismal. Hundreds of Africans are drowning in the Mediterranean. It is tragic. Meanwhile, at the southern end, something similar is happening. Hundreds of migrants are being chased out of South Africa. It is equally tragic. However, it is the latter phenomenon which will occupy our attention today. Almost without exception, the xenophobia in South Africa has been condemned by various shades of opinion on the continent. For good measure, South Africa and South Africans have been reminded that in the course of their ordeal, the rest of Africa stood with them in containing the scourge of apartheid. Let me quickly state that I am also outraged by the inhuman treatment which the South Africans have inflicted on other Africans. It smacks of ingratitude, and I daresay, selective amnesia. The amnesia stems from the fact that, they have forgotten so soon that, just yesterday, they were at the mercy of the Boers, the then ruling social force in South Africa.

But, this is as far as I can go, in terms of joining this chorus of condemnation. There are deeper issues which we need to examine. Such issues primarily revolve around how and why South Africa has since become a favourite destination for Nigerians and other Africans. For those who know, and particularly those who have visited the land of the Boers, and the Zulus, South Africa is not a typical African country. It is for all practical purposes, a first world country. Even the popular and derided Soweto, is much better than parts of our expatriate bubble-Victoria Island. So, what really happened? The answer lies in the fact that the much-hated Boer had an idea of what it means and takes to build a nation. And you have to give it those Boers. They built up South Africa and in the process, put in place, first world-class resources and infrastructure. In this respect, we are talking of features like solid roads, modern railway systems and out-of the-world residential suburbs as well as universities. Consequently, the immediate foregoing would easily explain why nationalities of various descriptions across Africa and even Asia have since turned South Africa into a home.

But then, if I may use a famous phrase, home hurts. Home hurts, i.e. South Africa hurts, because gross inequities continue to haunt post-apartheid South Africa. Through the nefarious design and schemes of the Boers, a large portion of South African blacks received Bantu Education-a rather minimal resource which only qualified them to be drawers of water and hewers of wood in their own country. Meanwhile, in the post- apartheid era, a lot of Africans, including Nigerians came in with their solid and professional education. They fitted quickly into the new order. Even those without such education, especially the irrepressible Nigerians, became traders on the streets of Johannesburg. Naturally, a lot of these evolving realities must have provoked some form of resentment in the brutalised black South African. This is because under apartheid, he was a loser. In post-apartheid South Africa, the losing streak continues since his country had virtually been invaded by these foreigners. It was not as if the succeeding Black government has not made efforts to reverse the historical injustices perpetrated by apartheid. This is being done. But such efforts are yet to reach a large portion of the blacks, most of whom are still languishing Meanwhile, the other part of the equation is that South Africa is an industrial giant with a developed economy. Little wonder therefore that since the demise of apartheid, South African companies have been able to penetrate the rest of the continent, with their business concerns. Such business outfits include MTN, Shoprite, DSTV and the Protea Hotel Chain. Predictably, these counter-invasions from South Africa have not been lost on those who are protesting against Xenophobia in South Africa. And to this extent, some form of siege has been laid on these business outfits in Nigeria.

However, it is pertinent to ask here: While the Boers built South Africa, such that the country is now a favourite destination, what did our own leaders do? By way of answer, what our leaders did to was to steal, rob and plunder the country. They did not build the country. Resources that should have been used for such a worthy venture were salted away into Western banks. Today, the consequence is there for all to see. Nigerians and other Africans are streaming towards both ends of the continent. As one observer rightly remarked on television, a combination of failed states and rampant poverty in the rest of Africa is mainly responsible for the respective movements towards South Africa and Europe. Thus, if we must be true to ourselves, the migration to South Africa and other better climes can only be stemmed if and when Nigerian leaders and their counterparts in other parts of Africa sustain basic human existence in their respective social formations. Therefore, my final and passionate injunction to the ruling (ruining) class in Nigeria and by extension Africa is: Thou sluggard, go learn from the ant, and make your country a better place-as the Boers did!

Soremekun is a professor of Political Science, National Open University of Nigeria