₦airaland Forum

by Leah Ndagi


Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said Nigeria made significant sacrifices in support of South Africa’s liberation struggle, including deductions from the scholarship allowances of Nigerian students to fund anti-apartheid movements.

Shettima made the remarks in Sierra Leone during the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government while condemning the recent wave of xenophobic attacks targeting African migrants in South Africa.

Expressing solidarity with Ghana, the Vice-President called for the issue to be presented at the next African Union (AU) summit, stressing that attacks on fellow Africans were unacceptable.

“On the afrophobic attacks in South Africa, I wish to join Ghana in strongly condemning the attacks on its citizens and other fellow Africans in the Republic of South Africa,” he said.

He noted that the matter would be taken before the African Union to send a strong message against intolerance on the continent.

Shettima reminded South Africa of the support it received from several African nations during the anti-apartheid struggle, particularly from Nigeria and Ghana.

“While we tread the path of moderation, South Africa should be reminded that the freedom the country currently enjoys is due to the liberation efforts of African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana.

“Deductions were made from our scholarship allowances to fund liberation movements in Southern Africa.

“They should learn to know where their problem lies. Their problems do not lie with fellow Africans who are there to sell their skills,” he said.

Nigeria has continued to express concern over the xenophobic violence that erupted in South Africa in April, during which at least four Nigerians were reportedly killed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had earlier criticised the treatment of Nigerians in South Africa, saying the country had made enormous sacrifices to support South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.

According to her, Nigeria committed financial resources to the liberation movement, reserved educational opportunities for South African students, and mobilised nationwide demonstrations in solidarity with the anti-apartheid campaign.

She also noted that many Nigerians participated in protests against the apartheid regime, with some even facing arrest for their activism.

Following the attacks, the Federal Government evacuated 1,490 Nigerians from South Africa in seven batches after rights groups issued an unofficial June 30 deadline for migrants to leave the country.

While Nigeria has maintained that it prefers diplomatic engagement to resolve the issue, the government has also indicated that retaliatory measures remain an option if attacks on Nigerians persist.

Kobojunkie:
Awon Storytellers Association of Nigeria! 😒😒😒

brain54:
:::


South Africans know all these but don't just care. That's why I always advocate a stronger response rather than diplomatic and continuous empty talk.


By the way why is shettima expressing solidarity with Ghana when his citizens/country men are equally going through the same thing and being attacked? he should say his own and stop aligning/attaching with Ghana.


Why is he waiting for small - and I say that respectfully- Ghana to take the lead before attaching with them? Its just showing they ( nigerian leaders) lack direction and don't even know how to handle the whole issue with s/a but rather are taking the cue from Ghana.


Ghana has been at the forefront of all these setting the pace and direction while Nigeria has been behind following with no policy approach.


Shame on Nigeria who has been doing nothing but giving empty speeches when it should be at the fore as so called giant of Africa.


:::

nairalanda1:
Kind of true. A lot of SOuth Africans studied in Nigeria during the arphateid period, especially in the 1970's and 1980's. And many of them were sponsored by the Nigerian government

For a very long time, many black South Africans did not have access to decent post primary education because of the arphateid government's very limited spending on education (before we even talk about BANTU education and all that), so sometimes, the only way to get a good education was to go to other African countries.

And yes, again, it was the government that paid for it. Even at secondary and primary level self.

Islie:
Xenophobia: Nigeria Sacrificed Scholarship Funds To Support South Africa’s Liberation – Shettima



https://leadership.ng/xenophobia-nigeria-sacrificed-scholarship-funds-to-support-south-africas-liberation-shettima/

seppuku:
I remember a young South African girl that took common entrance with us back in my days. She was probably child of an exile and the memory sticks with me even till today so I know what the country did for them but please we should stop trying to appeal to them using this rhetoric.

The younger generation do not care and are detached from that past. It is time to use more conventional methods to retaliate against what we all are seeing coming from there.

nairalanda1:
It doesn't mean, despite my story above , that Nigerians and other Africans should violate South Africa's immigration laws and move in without being approved or without having the right visas, just to 'hustle'.

Immigration always affects the country that recieves and the country supplying in negative ways. And while xenophobia is wrong, if African countries had been more serious about development, there may have been reduced immigration.

brain54:
:::
South Africans know all these but don't just care. That's why I always advocate a stronger response rather than diplomatic and continuous empty talk.
By the way why is shettima expressing solidarity with Ghana when his citizens/country men are equally going through the same thing and being attacked? he should say his own and stop aligning/attaching with Ghana.
Why is he waiting for small - and I say that respectfully- Ghana to take the lead before attaching with them? It’s just showing they ( nigerian leaders) lack direction and don't even know how to handle the whole issue with s/a but rather are taking the cue from Ghana.
Ghana has been at the forefront of all these setting the pace and direction while Nigeria has been behind following with no policy approach.
Shame on Nigeria who has been doing nothing but giving empty speeches when it should be at the fore as so called giant of Africa.
:::

seppuku:
I remember a young South African girl that took common entrance with us back in my days. She was probably child of an exile and the memory sticks with me even till today so I know what the country did for them but please we should stop trying to appeal to them using this rhetoric.

The younger generation do not care and are detached from that past. It is time to use more conventional methods to retaliate against what we all are seeing coming from there.

nairalanda1:
It doesn't mean, despite my story above , that Nigerians and other Africans should violate South Africa's immigration laws and move in without being approved or without having the right visas, just to 'hustle'.

Immigration always affects the country that recieves and the country supplying in negative ways. And while xenophobia is wrong, if African countries had been more serious about development, there may have been reduced immigration.

nairalanda1:
Interesting story, thanks for sharing.

As for the xenophobia...the problem is, the majority of people going to south africa are unskilled workers..people who are going there not to take up skilled jobs that a south african cannot fill, but unskilled workers, and they are going there to compete with the large mass of unskilled south africans for jobs.

When that happens, salaries and wages for jobs for unskilled workers go down, because an illegal immigrant would do the job for less compared to a south African. THat makes conditions for workers in south africa bad.

Hence the violence.

motymop:
the money you all claimed you send, didnt get to any poor people in SA, it all went to the ANC elites

you know why they dont listen to all these rants of sending feeding money and funding to them is because, they themselves sacrifice their own lives to achieve what they have today

soweto riots and all lot of bombing and protest were organised by the natives who put down their lives and all these was achieved by any nationals living in nigeria or ghana

seppuku:
We get that but when a mozambican woman with an asylum case pending manages to open up a salon and is making an honest living is harassed by a mob that tell her to close down her shop because they don't like that she is there is borderline hatred.

They can't spin it any other way.

mikeapollo:
Violation of immigration laws does not mean African immigrants should be harassed, molested, attacked, killed and their shops looted by hoodlums and thugs. They even attack people with valid papers.

Incidentally, there are similar undocumented immigrant Indians, Lebanese etc. who are not touched or harrassed by these xenophobic South Africans

Kingray10:
Currently now we have the highest number of school children in the world.
Our leaders are always found f making foolish decisions.
The black SA we helped, look at how they are treating us in return.

nairalanda1:
Yeah, but harsh as it sounds, she is probably competing with South African ladies who are doing the same,bringing down their prices and their incomes.. and she is probably in the country illegally..

nairalanda1:
Once recall a black American talking about an uncle of his who worked as a roofer, and who supported trump's immigration crackdown, because illegal immigrant roofers were doing the same job as he did for a lower price.