South Africa is in the news once again, and for the worst of reasons. Without rehashing the gory details of the brigandage in South Africa, where the citizens regularly turn on other African nationals to vent their frustration, we make bold to say enough is enough.
We do not need to go far to situate the anti-Blacks sentiments in South Africa. Sadly, it is at the doorstep of the South African authorities. A former deputy police minister, Bongani Mkongi, told us so, perhaps, inadvertently. He once labelled the foreign nationals in South Africa as criminals and, though out of office, his idea still resonates somehow with some government officials. Mkongi had also disclosed their plan to “do something” about the dominance of foreign nationals in South Africa, which he described as dangerous. Of course, that they have already been doing by sponsoring street urchins to unleash mayhem on fellow Blacks, killing them and looting their property.
It is a sick joke that South Africans now boast of a country without regard for the history of that country. Of course, nobody has denied they have a right to protect their country but to label all foreign nationals (especially Africans) criminals is most unfair, as there are also criminals among South African nationals, even among the police. The authorities cannot blame their incompetence in combating crime on innocent people. Even if the fear about foreign dominance is true, are Blacks the only foreign nationals? Why are they not attacking Asians, Americans, and Europeans? These little minds are clearly masking their inferiority complex and proving that freedom does not fit some kind of people and that South Africa deserves to remain under Pieter Botha. Poor souls!
How did such dim-witted misfits ascend such gilded heights in the first place? It speaks much about the mediocre show going on in Nelson Mandela’s land right now. Even top officials of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government, including the president himself, are culpable. They rode to power on the back of inflammatory statements and now that lizards have come to feast on the ants they brought home with the firewood, Africa must insist they clean this mess or dump them and their degenerative country back into its former pariah status, as they lack what it takes to be in the comity of decent Africans, noted for their traditional love and gratitude.
Unfortunately, these South African lazy louts pretend not to know their past. How other African countries, led by Nigeria, went all out to practically snatch them out of the mouth of a ravenous apartheid regime. Nigeria, for instance, spent over $60 billion prosecuting this war on apartheid, sheltered and fed some South African nationalists, including venerable Nelson Mandela, who is obviously weeping in his grave now as his people have resorted to biting the hand that fed them.
These attacks are more of Afrophobia than xenophobia. The South African youths are so stoned they cannot think straight, hence the haze of booze and drugs has not allowed them to identify their true enemy but rather elevate Afrophobia as a virtue. Thanks to a few reasonable citizens, though, who are wise to realise that the real enemies are the Europeans, who enslaved the people for years under the ruthless apartheid regime and still cast long foreboding shadows on their psyche. The real enemies are the Europeans, who, despite controlling about 80 per cent of the means of survival, refuse to invest in South African soil but rather export its wealth to Europe, thereby stalling job creation and wealth dispersal, thus making the people starve.
Nigerians do not deserve such savagery. They are mostly mere shop owners and hawkers and it is inconceivable how and what they deprive South Africans, since they create jobs for themselves.
However, I don’t subscribe to attacking South African businesses or citizens in Nigeria. Doing so would reduce us to their beastly level. In the first place, South Africa has no real businesses in Nigeria. They merely use Nigerians as proxy or conduits to milk the country. So, basically, the businesses are Nigerian-owned, whereas the money goes to South Africa due to poor regulations and corrupt regulatory authorities. So, burning down Shoprite et al is tantamount to burning down Nigerian shops like the bigoted South African national are doing over there.
Nevertheless, the Nigerian government’s scant regard for the safety of its citizens and tepid approach to dealing with issues such as this are unacceptable. These cyclic attacks have only elicited one excuse after another, while waiting for the carnage next time. Whatever you see on the streets of South Africa has the tacit backing of their envious government, otherwise, they could have done something to stem the butchery. It is time for Nigeria to bare its fangs and solve this NOW or NEVER.
However, this is not exclusively a Nigerian problem. It is pan-African, but Nigeria must lead in hitting South Africa hard where it will really hurt and jar them back to their senses, if they ever had any. Nigeria must mobilise other African countries via the African Union and possibly seek international sanctions to isolate South Africa once more, like in the days of apartheid. The South African authorities have not shown enough commitment to reining in their dogs. Certainly, this occasion requires more than diplomatic niceties.
There is nothing as horrendous as the savagery in South Africa, where Blacks have been programmed against fellow Blacks while security operatives look the other way or abet the dastardly acts, if not actively participating. The devil has so manipulated them they cannot see beyond their noses where the real enemy is.
Nonetheless, foreign nationals, in South Africa or elsewhere, should respect the laws of their hosts. Habitual loudness as is reported in some cases about Nigerians should be discouraged. It is also condemnable that they indulge in crimes, such as drug deals, kidnapping, and armed robbery. However, the South African authorities should tackle crime and deal with criminals according to their laws and avoid blanket lumping of genuine and law-abiding foreign nationals with criminals. They should reclaim their land fully from the oppressor Europeans, who still manacle the people to acute deprivation years after apartheid supposedly ended, smartly turning Blacks against Blacks while sneering at the inherent foolishness.
We must all also roundly condemn those assumed Nigerian leaders who attended the World Economic Forum in South Africa despite the Federal Government’s boycott in protest against the ill treatment of Nigerians. The silly tales that they attended in order to ensure that Nigeria is no more messed up is as foolish as the marines deserving of them. Such insensitivity is borne out of the fact that they are not direct victims, but an injury to a single Nigerian should be an injury to all; that is how it should be.
But come to think of it, could it be that, perhaps, the South Africans took a cue from us? If some section of Nigeria could slaughter other people and destroy their property with great relish and get away with it, with a tinge of official sanction, what the heck are we talking about? Compensation my foot!