Much may not have been heard of the incessant and gruesome killings of African natives especially Nigerians, Zimbabweans and Mozambicans resident and working in South Africa by some ignorant South Africans. In the words of Johnn Wolfgang Von Goethe, “there is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action”.
The persistent and impulsive attacks on these Africans by certain South Africans is just mere ignorance, misplaced anger and intolerance against a vulnerable friend cum neighbour. The reasons behind these attacks argued or put forward by the South Africans as; increase in unemployment, poverty, influx of African foreigners coming to take away jobs, stealing of our wives, our houses, our shops etc are nothing but self-inflicted ignorance and total hatred towards ones neighbour.
The South African nation must realize that no nation can survive in isolation, no matter how rich it claims to be. The agitation for Nigerians and other African natives to leave the country negates the principle of the African Union of achieving greater unity, cohesion and solidarity between the African countries and African nations. The good people of South Africa must not forget where they are coming from and the ultimate sacrifices paid by other African countries especially Nigeria, towards the abolishing of apartheid policy in their country.
It is rather unfortunate that the South African perceive his African brother as the root cause of the problems bedevilling him rather than the government of his own country, that has continuously denied him of access to the social necessities of life. African immigrants do not own lands, do not run companies nor ship out capital to European banks. The unprovoked, constant and irresponsible actions perpetuated by South Africa citizens points to leadership failure of the South African Government and their inability to tame this ugly monster.
The people of South Africa must realize that there are South Africans resident in, schooling and doing businesses in other African countries as immigrants too. As the saying goes, “a landlord can also become a tenant when he moves to a strange land” “or a citizen can also be a foreigner in a strange land”. They must also realize that the enemy is not their African brothers and sisters living in South Africa. As Julius Malema rightly puts it ‘even if we expel them tomorrow, you will still not get a job. There are no jobs in South Africa because Whites are refusing to invest their monies in South Africa……….. There is no Nigerian who stolen industry and hired Nigerians only…………. It is your White people who hired Zimbabweans and paid them low, so that you can fight among yourselves….. Stop that nonsense, it ends today’.
Therefore, I call on the South African Government and the good people of South Africa to sit-up and nip this in the bud, thereby, showing to the rest of the African continent and the world that the irresponsible actions of these few and ignorant South Africans do not represent the opinions and decisions of all.
AFRICAN LIVES MATTER. WE ARE ONE HUMANITY. WHERE IS THE SPIRIT OF UBUNTU?
Evans backyard 