The world was jolted by ugly images coming from South Africa of horrendous acts of savagery of human beings dragged and slaughtered on the streets by lynch mobs under the watchful eye of the South Africa security forces who practically did nothing to rescue the victims. The victims were mostly nationals of other African countries; notably, Nigerian, Zimbabweans, Zambians etc. Their offences amongst others are that they are foreigners and they are either responsible for the high unemployment rates in South Africa or that they are taking up jobs meant for the locals. Furthermore, the officials refrain was that most of the victims are illegal immigrants and drug dealers who feed the prostitution rings and other vices in South Africa. One would have thought that there are laws for dealing with such things and not a resort to barbarism and jungle justice of primitive nature which reminds the world of what Africa has remained; savages.
This is what has been described as Xenophobia or a xenophobic attack which has put South Africa on edge and indeed the countries of the victims in fear of reprisal attacks. Migration is a social phenomenon which is as old as recorded history and people have always crossed boundaries for adventures and of course in search of better live. The current trend of ultra nationalism and supremacists’ hatred towards foreigners across the world has made nonsense of the concept of globalization and the world gravitating towards a global village.
We have different tribes and tongues in Africa but every African whether living in the continent or in Diaspora has a unique gene of a Negroid. If you look deeply into any black man anywhere in the world, you are likely going to see your own image the artificial boundaries notwithstanding.
The South African situation is a larger problem of what is playing out within the domestic national boundaries of each and every African country and Nigeria typifies that bad example. It is a matter of time before the different ethnic nationalities in South African turn on one another when they are done with expelling their African brothers from other countries. Like South Africa like Nigeria, at every little provocation, we find our political leaders making incendiary statements, giving evacuation orders for their kinsmen to return to their states or regions of origin; whether it is in Umuahia in Abia State, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos or Ibadan etc.
What is happening is a product of tribal leaders who have taken over the political space in the cloak of national leadership. These are the same religious bigots and ethnic irredentists who sustain themselves in power and relevance by appealing to their tribe. Come to think of it, no Nigerian should be an unwanted or illegal immigrant anywhere in the world if we have got the right leadership. In my small sojourn and travels, I am yet to see a country that is as naturally endowed as Nigeria and I dare say by extension, no continent is as endowed as the continent of Africa; is it the wealth in the underbelly of the forest of the Congo, Angola, Ghana, South Sudan, all black African countries.
I have listened to reactions to the attacks of our brothers and sisters and indeed the reprisal attack of South African business interests in parts of Nigeria. It may have been quite unreflective of those behind it but it was a natural impulse that for every action, there must be a reaction. The Nigeria Police Force unlike their South African counterparts reacted swiftly to arrest the situation and indeed, a life was lost in the process. That life lost was a needless act of indiscretion for the police to use life bullet and shoot to kill in the circumstances. The riot or protest would have been arrested without taking a life.
What happened in South Africa is a big lesson to Nigeria, especially the political leadership which unfortunately has no philosophical depth to deal with harnessing our diversity for the development of our country. Our leaders have used religion and ethnicity to deeply divide us that we use sacrilegious epithet to describe one another and show resentment to our unique ways of life. This is the reason in different parts of Nigeria today, people prefer to live in different quarters rather than intermix.
Nigeria’s diplomatic machinery appears too rusty to protect Nigerian citizens abroad. Not much of diplomatic solutions would solve the problem as fresh attacks are just a matter of time. Our leaders feed on the ignorance of the masses that they have pauperised and denied the basic necessities of life. Our people are unemployed not because foreigners are in our countries but because our leaders do not have an idea of how to develop and grow our economies. We are poor because our leaders and their minions fritter away our resources for their strange taste for exotic foreign food and ostentatious lifestyle. We are poor because the civil servants do not know a jack about how to run the bureaucracies of the government but rather engage in trading and corrupt practices to the top.
We are poor because the religious leaders exploit our helpless state and make us part with the little left for us to survive on. The artificial boundaries are not our problem. The anger and frustrations of the South African youths and indeed in Nigerian youths is misdirected. Our revolt and protest should be against bad leadership whether it is in Nigeria or South Africa. Migration is a reality of today’s world and we cannot make all Nigerians in Diaspora to return home. Return home to what, uncertainty, unemployment, insecurity and disease?
We have not sat down to review the foreign policy trust of our country which has been mainly Afrocentric. To be able to defend the lives of Nigerians outside our shores, the lives of Nigerians within our territorial borders and boundaries should matter. We have not been able to rescue the poor Chibok school girls to date. Leah Sharibu remains in captivity after the Dapchi raid by the Boko Haram terrorists. We are busy today, negotiating and posing for photo shops with criminals and bandits in trade-off in spite of the huge investment in security.
People are paying protection fees to kidnappers and armed robbers and security men have been involved in channelling the ransom money to these criminals while government lies about such payments. In the midst of the security chaos, the president and his handlers have gone to sleep not being able to summon the will to re-jig the security architecture and as a first step, sack the service chiefs. The president is misinformed to believe that security is politicised; this may not be entirely correct; and what if it is? After four long years, fatigue has set in, and the institutions should have a new breath. I hear the president plans a state visit to South Africa next month. Such a visit is not only ill-advised but of no diplomatic relevance other than to belittle the image and reputation of our country; that is, if we have been able to make any such impression with the lacklustre leadership that has bedevilled our country. President Donald Trump of the United States of America just cancelled a scheduled meeting with the Talibans because one American soldier was killed in Afghanistan. He has just sacked John Bolton, the National Security Adviser.
If we carry ourselves with dignity, countries of the world would defer to us and respect our nationals wherever they are in the globe. With mediocre leadership, no country will tolerate Nigerian citizens; it would be a wishful thinking.
- Kebonkwu Esq writes from Abuja.