The last couple of days have been horrifying, and that's putting it nicely. The events that took place in arguably two of Africa's most promising nations are eyesores and several steps backwards in the journey to building the united Africa we've always dreamt of.

South Africans burning down and looting Nigerian business in the "Rainbow Country"; Nigerians returning the favour. How exactly did we get here as Africans?

Yes, killing a Nigerian or any human is inexcusable, destroying their sources of livelihood is not pleasant either. There have been burning and looting of MTN stores (Akwa Ibom and Bodija in Ibadan), looting of Malls and stores and with threats of further actions against South African businesses. But, critically thinking about these retaliations, who exactly are we hurting, South Africa or ourselves? Think about it. Before joining in the looting/burning/hating party have you thought about these five things?


Nigerians Losing Source of Livelihoods: We hate to admit it but the so-called South African businesses in Nigeria like MTN (especially), MultiChoice, Shoprite and Stanbic etc. are some of the biggest employers of labour. With the unemployment rate north of 23% (NBS). If we go about destroying the facilities of these organisations like some have done already (Lagos and Ibadan especially) and they end up 'closing shop', South Africans will not be the ones losing jobs, it is you and I, our friends and our families that will. Think about it.

When Have Two Wrongs Ever Made a 'Right'?: Like the famous saying, "An eye for an eye makes the world go blind," if we continue this series of looting and burning, at the end of the day, what we will have left in both countries is agony, loss of properties and laying waste to the great potentials that exist in these two countries. Who wins then? I guess it'll be a draw, then maybe we go to extra time, and subsequently, pay the penalty for our inhumane actions.

We Need More Infrastructure Not Destroying The Little We Have: Some youths on my street the other day were busy in a corner, planning on how to destroy the MTN mast on the street, as I walked past them, I couldn't help but think to myself, do we really need to do this? These infrastructures are serving us all, and South Africans will still have functional mobile networks after we finish destroying ours. I saw the visuals of the burning MTN office in Ibadan as well as the looting of the malls. Guys! We depend on these things daily; we should be protecting them; instead, they serve us.

Is Looting and Burning Good for Our National Image?: Don't think too hard; the answer is a blatant and capital NO. In the past few weeks, our reputation has taken a severe beating in the international community, from cybercrime to drug trafficking, we are perceived as "very bad' people. Do we want to add looters and destroyers to that list? Nah, our prestigious Green passport, has suffered enough.

How will these Violent Acts Help Cure Africa of Xenophobia?: We should be thinking of how we can rid this continent of this plague that has ravaged our continent for some time now. No, violence won't solve the problem; it will increase it exponentially. While what is going on in S.A is heartbreaking, proper conflict resolution should be adopted. Let us trust our leaders for once with this. Violence will only cause us more heartache.


While what has happened is hardly what we need as a nation and as a continent, violence is not the answer; we can peacefully coexist as humans but most importantly, as Africans.

#NoToXenophobia #NoToViolence #NoToLootingOfBusinesses