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.
Continue reading after the cut...
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)
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