UNTIL 1994, for over a century South Africa was
locked against the rest of Africa and indeed the
country and her people were not easily accessible
to the rest of the world as the white minority
used their might to impose racial segregation,
which denied the majority black of everything,
including quality life and the rest of the world
rose in support of the majority black in popular
agitation for the liberation of a country held in
the worst and unusual form of domination in all
spheres of life.

The “support” given by the rest of the world was
not because it was South Africa. It was because a
part of humanity with legitimate rights to their
land have been deprived and decimated only
because they have resources of global economic
values, and not just because of the colour of their
skin. Everyone saw the anti apartheid struggle as
a liberation struggle, an integral part of the
global struggle against oppression, all forms of
oppression.

South Africa and her exceptional experiences in
severe oppression and exploitation, even before
the advent of apartheid, is one country whose
people got the best global solidarity during the
years of the struggle against apartheid. No one
saw that struggle as “their” struggle. It was our
collective struggle.

The leading anti apartheid organisation, the
African National Congress, ANC, maintained
offices in several countries abroad, including
Nigeria. Not a few South African citizens
attended public schools, including universities in
Nigeria, with full scholarships/fellowship paid for
by the Nigerian government. There were several
organisations involved in mobilising people and
resources, organised by Nigerians, in our
voluntary quest to be part of the liberation
struggle.

Indeed, there was the Nigeria-African National
Congress Friendship and Cultural Association,
NAFCA. There was the Youth Solidarity on
Southern Africa and Nigeria, YUSSAN. YUSSAN
was in most campuses of Nigerian universities and
other tertiary institutions, mobilising students
across the country against apartheid South
Africa.

Other organisations, including the Nigeria Labour
Congress, National Association of Nigerian
Students, Women In Nigeria as well as the
Government of Nigeria were actively involved in
mobilising people, opinions and resources against
apartheid.

Nigeria was certainly not the only country whose
citizens and governments actively participated in
the international struggle against apartheid.
Many African countries indeed provided cover for
leading South African activists in exile.

That some South Africans have decided to unleash
deadly violence on immigrants, especially of
African extraction is nothing but a failure of post
apartheid leadership who have done very little to
reorientate, rehabilitate and effectively
empower the people in a way that reconnects
them with the reality of their history and culture
as Africans and position them for the socio
economic and political challenges of post apartheid
situations, situations that posits them in a world
of fierce social, economic and political realities of
our collective contemporary predicament.

Most South Africans have been made to think or
believe they are not part of Africa. References to
other African countries is often derogatory. In
fact, President Jacob Zuma sometime in October
2013, while defending his government’s
introduction of e-tolls on roads in the Gauteng
Province during the ANC Gauteng Province
Manifesto Forum held at the famous University of
Wittswaterstrand in Johannesburg said “we can’t
think like Africans in Africa. Its not some national
road in Malawi.”

Though his spokesman, Mac Maharaj struggled to
moderate that statement after some diplomatic
skirmishes with the government of Malawi, it
however captured the impression of most South
Africans.

This is why, in the so called xenophobic attacks,
which first occurred in 2008 and left about 60
people dead, the targets are Africans, from other
African countries mostly Nigerians, Mozambicans,
Somalians, and Congolese.

Most businesses in the informal sector are
operated by immigrants from these countries,
particularly Nigerians.

There are immigrants also from India, Pakistan
and even Britain. In fact, British citizens don’t
require a visa to enter South Africa. These
category of immigrants are carefully exempted
from the attacks. This gives clear indication that
it is an extension of afrophobic beliefs of the
leadership.

The country’s political leadership seem to have
ignored majority of the citizens in economic
empowerment as the citizens still see imbalance in
the socio economic life of the country. They are
yet to see the dividends of the liberation struggle
as the minority white population either as
citizens or immigrants get the priority in blue
chip businesses except in few cases where those
who were in key leadership positions during the
apartheid era, like Cyril Ramaphosa are involved
in telecommunications, minning and service
industry. The people see Cyril, the country’s
Deputy President as part of their problems. His
alleged involvement in the Marikana massacre
reminds the people of the emergence of a new
bourgeoise class that have privatised the
collective benefits of the liberation.

The frustration of the economic disempowerment
of majority of the citizens gives them the
impression that immigrants who control informal
sector of the economy are their obstacles. And its
easier for them to get at these immigrants as
they do business and live in areas easily accessible
to the victims of economic exclusion.

To the ordinary South African, apartheid is yet to
end. The system only assume a different shape
and coloration.

Yes, a black man is in politcal leadership in an
alliance with those who should have been leading
voices of the ordinary people to lead the country
to final liberation.

With ANC in power and in an alliance with the
South African Communist Party, SACP and the
Congress of South African Trade Unions, COSATU,
two main organisations, aside the ANC who
fought apartheid. SACP and COSATU were in the
main centre of actions that blew off apartheid.
The alliance worked against apartheid, but since
apartheid ended, this tripartite alliance have only
worked against the South African people as socio
economic and political policies of the government
are mostly driven by interests other than those of
the majority. Global neo liberal interests drives
the way, policies and directions of the
government, leaving majority of the citizens
widely ostracised from benefits of the bloody
struggles of more than a century.

South Africans fought against oppression and
exploitation but lost power and leadership to
compradors of contemporary global economic
warfare, and its sweeter for capitalism when the
poor take on themselves. The circumstance that
led any Nigerian to leave his/her country for
another is the same circumstance that led
neglected South Africans to attack immigrants.
Lack of good governance is the father of all
frustrations in citizens.

The only solution to the phobias, whether it is
xenophobia or afrophobia is for the South African
people to re-discover and re-focus themselves.
The alliance South Africans need, like most
countries, is an alliance of all oppressed people
against the anti-people alliance of our various
governments with institutions that create the
wedge between our governments and our people.
South Africa, like Nigeria and most African
countries need a second liberation against second
slavery which the alliance between our various
governments and global anti people neo liberal
institutions represent. If the people live well,
they won’t care where the next person comes
from.

Mr.Denja Yaqub, an asst. secretary at the
headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress,
Abuja.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/xenophobia-or-afrophobia/