Dr. Noyo Edem
We are constantly inundated with negative news about Nigeria and her citizens on social media. This negative news is coming to us both from occurrences happening in Nigeria and in some countries where our people reside abroad. The news is overwhelming enough to discourage and make us sad and feel hopeless. I would like to focus on the ongoing in South Africa, specifically the incessant violent attacks of South Africans on Nigerians and other immigrants of African origin in South Africa.
It is rather sad and very unfortunate, that South Africans have decided to transfer their frustrations about their situations on fellow Africans dwelling in their country. Videos of South Africans rising up in protest against their fellow Africans have been circulating in social media for a while. Although the recent videos have shown South Africans asking all African immigrants to leave their country, previous attacks have solely been on Nigerians from the videos that we have seen in previous years.
What is the grievance of our South African brothers and sisters against other Africans living in their country? We have heard them express sentiments like, “They are taking our jobs,” “They are marrying our women.” “Nigerians are criminals.” These allegations do not warrant the heightened lawlessness and violence that we see South Africans display in videos that the world has watched over the past couple of months. We have seen South Africans carrying spears, bows and arrows, other dangerous weapons, and charms in their unruly street protests to attack Nigerians and other Africans living in their country.
South Africans have demonstrated a gross lack of self-control, empathy, love, consideration and understanding towards the causes of other Africans living in their country. They have gone into South African hospitals to ask sick patients on admission to leave the hospitals, thereby discontinuing the much-needed treatment the patients’ Doctors have prescribed for them. These patients were under the care of Doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel. The question I have often asked when I see those videos is where is the management staff of those hospitals? Is it just so easy and possible for anyone to come into a place like a hospital and ask the patients to leave without the management getting involved and intervening to stop the lawlessness? Since no one has stopped the unruly lawless protesters from accessing the hospital. disrupting the treatment of the patients and asking non-South Africans to leave, then I can infer that the management or the leaders of the country including the law enforcement sanction this lawless act of South Africans. It is so shameful to see what South Africans are doing to other Africans living in their country. If South Africans have grievances against other Africans, there are legal ways to address those grievances which are not limited to reporting to the police and going to court. Having done that, then the aggrieved party should wait for the legal process to play out. We cannot subject the lives of innocent people to jungle justice before the appropriate law courts hear any lawsuit that has been brought against the accused.
Where in this world has it become a crime for a man to marry a woman that he loves? South African women are willingly marrying other Africans because they love them and those men take diligent care of them. There is no offense here; there is no crime in marrying a woman or man from another country, not to talk about marrying a fellow African. South African men should examine themselves and ask themselves why their women are not agreeing to marry them instead of going to attack men from other African countries who are marrying their women and taking good care of them. No woman wants to marry a man that would not take good care of her; therefore, my advice to South African men is that they should learn how to love and take care of their women. Perhaps their women would prefer to marry them instead of marrying other Africans.
There is also a civilized way to manage cases involving allegations of criminality of both South Africans and other Africans living in South Africa. It is wrong and disorderly for a mob of violent, angry people to confront a community of immigrants to attack them because of an allegation of criminal activities of the residents. The question is, “Who has committed a criminal offense in a community”? Report that person to law enforcement and allow law enforcement to do its job of investigating the allegation brought before it. It is morally wrong to accuse an innocent person of wrongdoing or attacking a community of innocent people who have nothing to do with a criminal offense. If anyone has committed a criminal offense, the person will face trial and justice will take its course. This is what should happen in a civilized and orderly society. What we have seen coming out of South Africa has shown a total breakdown of law and order and it is insane to think that the accused person or group of persons will receive any justice in such a disorderly situation. The world has just seen the weakness of the South African government and law enforcement in governing the country and protecting the people who live in South Africa. A group of violent lawless South Africans is violating people’s human rights and nobody seems to be intervening to protect human lives and properties. It is even more shameful and awful that South Africans would only lift up their voices and hands against their fellow Africans living in their country.
Are there no other immigrants in South Africa? South Africans have decided to turn their backs against fellow Africans that gave them so much love, empathy, and their countries’ resources during the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Nigeria and other African countries welcomed your citizens whole heartedly; funded your struggles and campaigns for independence; gave your citizens scholarship to study in the best schools in Nigeria and other African countries. Africa did not rest over your oppression from your While Apartheid leaders; African did not sleep, but wept with you, fasted and sent their salaries to help you and today you stand in your country as free citizens of South Africa and lift up your hands and voices against your fellow African brothers. You call them criminals, but these were the same “criminals” that helped you in your time of need. You have shown yourselves to be an inconsiderate, unloving, and unaccommodating Africans that are envious of the prosperity of other Africans living in South Africa.
The world is watching you and I am making my objective assessment from the way you have engaged and interacted with other Africans living in your country. Your videos are on social media and you can also make assessments of yourselves, if your consciences would permit you to do so. You have asked other Africans to leave your county. Ok, we have heard you clearly but remember that you did not fight alone or struggle alone to achieve your independence. You gained your freedom from apartheid through a collective effort of all African countries that stood by you. If you do not know, then you need to ask questions and find out more about your history. Go and listen to the music of late Sir Sonny Okosun of Nigeria and hear how he lamented over your country in his music. He campaigned for your freedom more than some South African leaders. Is this your attack on Africans your appreciation- your expression of gratitude for what Africans did for you?
I do not want to shift the blame of what you have done to your African brothers to anyone or groups of people that may be instigating you against them. You are old enough to know yourselves and act on your own free will. Even if there are any groups of peoples instigating you, you have the right to say, “No.” You chose to attack your African brothers; you have refused to improve yourselves and get those good jobs that you can easily get as citizens of South Africa; rather you have chosen to attack other Africans that are prospering in your country. You can prosper too and all you need to do is to draw closer to the foreigners and learn from them. Emulate what they do; go to school; send your children to school; start a business and learn to run your business and you will also do well. Do not get used to a mentality that does not believe that Africans can do well in this world; instead, embrace all opportunities of advancing yourselves through education and diligent hard work. While the image of an educated and prosperous African may be unfamiliar to you, it is familiar to the rest of us. This is the way we are-a hard-working, focused, resilient, and prosperous people. I advise you to develop a mindset of prosperous hardworking Africans and strive to be one. You can learn from your other African brothers. Approach them and see how loving, considerate and accommodating they can be. We are not defined and restricted in achieving our individual goals by the criminality of some Africans that may be law breakers amongst us. Let peace reign!
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