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Recently, some Nigerians living in
South Africa were reported to have been victims of violence allegedly fuelled
by xenophobia. Hate crimes against Nigerians living in South Africa are nothing
new. Since the dismantling of apartheid, Nigerians and other African nationals
living in the country of the Madiba have been the subjects of coordinated
xenophobic violence reminiscent of what black South Africans themselves
suffered during the apartheid era. The story of this recent violence was
not different from previous attacks. Reports of spontaneous assault by some
South African members of Port Nolloth community were said to have targeted the
Nigerian community living in the area.
They were reportedly chased out of
their homes, their property looted and their shops burnt. The attackers have
always accused the Nigerians of dealing in drugs. But the Nigerian community in
South Africa has denied the allegation. They in turn have accused the South
Africans of envy. They claimed South Africans have always felt threatened by
the business success of Nigerians living in the country. Frequent attacks on
Nigeria in South Africa have often grabbed media attention. Strangely, the
South African government has uncharacteristically condemned the latest incident
as xenophobia. Since 2006, hate crime has been on the increase. It peaked in
2008 with the widespread violence that targeted foreign nationals.
Apart from the poverty of the black
population in South Africa, intolerance has also become one of the enduring
legacies of the apartheid era — a system that brutally subjugated the blacks
and treated them as second class citizens in their own country. How ironical it
is then that South Africans would now turn around to subject their fellow black
Africans to the same treatment? And to think it was the same Africans that
supported them to fight apartheid leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Many of the
freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela also sought refuge in several countries on
the continent. Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere in Africa faced
discrimination and even violence; though much of that risk stemmed from the
institutionalised racism of the time. After 1994 and following democratisation,
and contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased. Between
2007 and 2008, at least 67 people died of hate crimes. In 2008, a series of
riots left 62 people dead in an attack apparently motivated by xenophobia. It
has to be noted, however, that African immigrants have suffered racist attacks,
with Nigerian nationals being at the centre of hate-filled violence and arson.
According to a 1998 Human Rights
Watch report, immigrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique living in the
Alexandra township near Johannesburg were physically assaulted over a period of
several weeks in 1995, as armed gangs identified suspected migrants and marched
them to the police station in an attempt to “clean the township of foreigners.”
The campaigners, known as “Buyelekhaya” (go back home), blamed foreigners for
crime, unemployment and sexual attacks. Attacks on foreign nationals increased
markedly in late 2007. The most severe incident occurred in 2008 when a series
of riots started in the township of Alexandra. Locals attacked migrants
from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. In recent years, tales of
xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa have left compatriots at
home in shock. There have also been reported cases of harassment of Nigerian
travellers arriving at the Oliver Thambo Airport. One celebrated case of
disrespect was the treatment of Africa’s first Nobel winner, Prof. Wole
Soyinka. In 2005, Soyinka was denied entry into South Africa. It took the last
minute intervention of Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, to admit the Nobel
Laureate into the country. Soyinka’s trip to South Africa which was in response
to an invitation to deliver a lecture in honour of Mandela drew national and
international focus to the country, both because of Mandela, whose birthday it
was and Soyinka who was the guest speaker. The Professor was thus
understandably peeved at his treatment. In a statement at the time, he lamented
that the attitude of South African immigration “is not my idea of decent
conduct towards one who is not an unknown to South African officials, has made
several ‘regularised’ visits in the past, and has indeed been invited to the
country on this occasion to do honour to the founding father of the modern South
African nation.”
Many Nigerians have told tales of
woes about how South African immigration officials treat them both in South
Africa and in their embassy in Lagos. The plights of visa applicants at the
South African embassy paint a sordid picture of the xenophobic tendencies of an
average South African. During the 2010 World Cup, many Nigerians who sought
genuine reasons to visit the country were denied entry for no reason. There
were reports of officials hurling racist slurs at visa applicants. In 2012, the
government of South Africa denied 125 Nigerians travellers entry into its
country. The Nigerian travellers were prevented from entering South Africa on
the grounds that they had “invalid” yellow fever vaccination cards. But many of
the travellers who were frequent travellers said they had used the same cards
in previous travels. The Nigerian government retaliated by denying entry to
some South African travellers. A diplomatic row was averted when the South
African government apologised to the Nigerian government.
Nigerians’ contact with South Africa
began shortly after the end of apartheid in the early 1990s. Economic
difficulties at home and the search for opportunities saw Nigerians seek
greener pastures in South Africa. At the last count, Nigerians form the bulk of
immigrants in that country. Many successful businesses are said to be owned by
Nigerians. An average Nigerian in South Africa does not discriminate in their
choice of jobs. The influx of Nigerians and their penchant to dominate appear to
have angered the average South African. They have accused Nigerians and other
immigrants of taking their jobs. They have also blamed Nigerians for dealing in
drugs and other crimes. But many of these allegations against Nigerians and
other immigrants have not been substantiated.
The South African government has also
indirectly promoted and encouraged its citizens into believing that immigrants
are responsible for unemployment and crimes. For example, South Africa’s
borders have been remilitarised. According to Christopher McMichael: “This
shared state-corporate project of building up a ‘fortress South Africa’ also
reveals a deeply entrenched seam of xenophobia, in which undocumented migrants
and refugees from African countries are painted as a security risk akin to
terrorism and organised crime. Parliamentary discussions on border security are
rife with claims that foreign nationals are attempting to drain social grants
and economic opportunities from citizens. The packaging of illegal immigration
as a national security threat, which often relies on unsubstantiated claims
about the inherent criminality of foreign nationals, provides an official gloss
on deeply entrenched governmental xenophobia, in which African immigrants are
targets for regular harassment, rounding up and extortion by the police. This
normalisation of immigrants as figures of resentment may also fuel outbreaks of
xenophobic violence’’.
Nigerians’ rights to live without
fear must be protected. But those who are found to break the laws should be
prosecuted. After all, there are many thriving South African businesses in
Nigeria. Should we then accuse them of taking our jobs? Nigerians have
been tolerant of foreigners. Other countries should reciprocate our openness.
Xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans are against the spirit of African
Brotherhood. The Federal Government must protect Nigerians in whatever parts of
the world they find themselves.
BAYO OLUPOHUNDA (BAYOOLUPOHUNDA@YAHOO.COM)
Culled From The Punch..
Tags
Politics
It is in deed sad to learn that our fellower black brothers that we sheltered during the apartheid era. I can still remember clearly in the 70s then in my secondary school - Urhobo College Effurun, when we had some South African students with us. We treated very well we welcome them as brothers. Those of them can testify to that. These guys should think fast and change their ways towards their African brothers, because they stood by them then.
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