Xenophobia in South Africa: A time for self-reflection in Nigeria

Xenophobia in South Africa: A time for self-reflection in Nigeria
By
Umar Amir Abdullahi

08035628971
umaramir75@gmail.com

The recent attacks on foreigners living in South Africa have drawn widespread condemnation around the world. The thoughtless words of a Zulu King set the feelings of a marginalised section of South African society on edge. The price was paid in blood and assets gone up in flames. In Nigeria, the voices seem to have been particularly loud. It is understandable seeing as we have a large number of Nationals living in South Africa. Many of them had property and businesses there worth millions of Naira, some of which have been destroyed in the violence last week.

Nigerians begin an online campaign condemning the attack on fellow Nationals and calling for a boycott on South African businesses in Nigeria. That is a commendable gesture but one that also made me uneasy. How do we go about showing our displeasure to South African companies in Nigeria without affecting the livelihood of Nigerians working for those companies?

Yesterday, messages on Facebook suggested that protesters had managed to shut down the MTN office in Benin City. MTN is a South African based company but MTN in Nigeria is largely staffed by Nigerians. The fact also remains that MTN is currently the largest mobile telecommunications network in Nigeria. If we succeed in shutting it down, what will happen to the Nigerians working in those companies? Should they also join the teeming masses of unemployed and become a burden to the State? What will happen to MTN subscribers who suddenly find themselves without a service provider? Should we also boycott and perhaps shut down the activities of other South African interests like Multichoice and Shoprite.

As much as it is important for South Africans to do a good deal of self-reflection and realise attacking foreigners will not create jobs for them, Nigerians also need to realise shutting down companies will not benefit our economy. The fact that companies like MTN are here today says a lot about Nigerian business and investment culture. MTN is the first telecommunications company to offer GSM services in Nigeria. They saw a potential market for a much needed service and came to provide it. If our own businessmen had been willing to come together and invest in the communication sector, we might have had our own home based GSM company and wouldn’t have had to rely on a foreign company. A similar thing can be said about Multichoice and Shoprite. We have businessmen here and they should have taken advantage of a demand for satellite television and shopping malls in the Country respectively but they did not.

Is our anger towards the business savvy South African companies truly justified? If we try hard enough, it might be possible to shut down these companies but if we do, what happens to the services they provide? Is there a Nigerian investor willing to step in and fill the vacuum that will be left behind in the wake of their departure?

There is a great deal of anger out there today but that anger must be carefully tempered by reasoning. Otherwise, we risk acting no better than the South Africans who started this violence. For the time being, if we truly want to help the Nigerians fearing for their lives in South Africa then we should lobby our Government into putting pressure on the South African Government to control some lawless elements in their society that are wreaking havoc. After that, our Government can bring back any Nigerian who wishes to return home and also partner with the South African Government to ensure the lives and property of our citizens living in South Africa can be assured.

More importantly perhaps, Nigerians should ask themselves why they were not so quick to rise and condemn in a single voice violent actions that plagued one part of a Country or the spate of kidnappings that plagued another. When that happened, we were all quick to say after all, it was ‘a northern or a southern problem that had nothing to do with us.’ South Africa is much farther than the north or south. If the events happening over there made you angry, events happening at home should elicit a more active response from you.