RAJAB 18, 1429 A.H.
MONDAY JULY 21 2008
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South Africa: A model for democracy in Africa? (II)
By Colin Chukwuanu Egemonye
There have been several reports in the Nigerian dailies about the armed robberies that various Nigerians visiting South Africa have been subjected to in recent months mostly at their hotels.
It was reported recently that a top Nigerian diplomat was robbed at his hotel. These are usually five star hotels with supposedly buoyant security arrangements. How the Nigerian visitors have come to be been particularly targeted still baffles everyone but it has been claimed that since Nigerians travel with a lot of cash (Nigeria being a cash economy) which they declare at the airport the immigration and customs officers at the airports in South Africa usually connive with the armed robbers, providing them with details of the addresses where the Nigerian visitors are staying(presumably from information gathered from their landing cards). Of course the veracity of this claim cannot be ascertained.
One of the Nigerian newspapers recently carried an editorial about the treatment meted out to Nigerians seeking to obtain visas from the South African Embassy in Nigeria.
It was reported that Nigerians are usually required to deposit large sums of money- in the region of USD$1000 to USD$2000 with the embassy as an indication that they will voluntarily come back to Nigeria at the end of their visit.
Those who have returned more that a year ago have still not been able to claim their money back from the embassy. It was also reported in the same piece that there are no seats where applicants could sit down at the embassy whilst waiting for their visas to be processed and that the application forms which are meant to be free are being sold. When the newspaper sought clarification from the embassy official before it published its story, there was no one available to comment.
As a young man studying at the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I remember very well that we had several South African refugees in my university. They were studying a variety of courses free of charge and all their fees and costs were paid by the Federal Government of Nigeria. As students we tried our very best to make sure that they were comfortable, we gave them money, invited them to our homes during holidays and also invited them to social outings and treated them as brothers and sisters that they are.
I remember very well one of my neighbours in the hostel who lived about two or three doors away from me was a South African refugee. He was a very tall, slim and fragile looking man. Ever so often, you would hear him crying or weeping to himself whilst in his room. We were very worried about his welfare and tried as much as we could to make sure that whatever troubled him did not break him. It was said in those days that he was wanted in South Africa by the apartheid regime and that some of his family have been killed and that he had not seen his family members who are alive for more than 10 years-obviously this would be enough to break anyone. The role played by the Nigerian Student Union in the fight against apartheid is well documented. I also recall as a child being asked in church to make contributions for the church in South Africa.
When Nelson Mandel was released from prison in 1994, I remember the euphoria in Nigeria that greeted his release. One of the Nigerian dailies carried the caption: Mandela: from Prison to President. This was a new beginning for Africa and Nigeria and its people have rightly played their part in ending the oppressive regime in South Africa. It is said that in appreciation, Nigeria was the first country where Mandela officially visited after his release.
The story of South African refugees across Africa is well known and hardly any black South African can claim not to have had a relation or family member who was a refugee in Southern Africa not least Zimbabwean. Little wonder now that the Zimbabweans are being killed in South Africa and are being blamed for the lack of employment in the country.
The fact is that the immigrants cannot be blamed for the unemployment in South Africa. It cannot be denied that migration carries with it some negative effect, but migration is a way of life and also has a lot of benefits. The lack of employment in South Africa rests solely on the feet of the apartheid regime which denied the black South Africans the skills and education they need to gain meaningful employment.. The South Africa recognises this challenge hence it has created the black empowerment programme. A lot of progress has been made but it will probably take a generation to counter the effect of apartheid.
Turing now to the role of the political elite in the violence. It is somewhat surprising that President Mbeki is tucked away in Tanzanian where he attended the Committee of 12 Heads of State and Government of the African Union on Unity Government in Arusha, Tanzania. He has rightly called for an end to the violence and has in the last day or so, authorised for the military to be deployed.
On Tuesday 20 May it was reported that the violence has spread to Durban and on 23 May, it was reported that the violence has spread to Cape Town. We see pictures of people being burnt alive; we see pictures of the displaced and people in refugee camps; in post apartheid South Africa. Is this the Rainbow Nation that we all dreamt of and fought for one may ask? Has Mr. Mbeki done enough? Merely condemning the violence and calling for an end to violence is not enough. Mr. Mbeki should do more. He should condemn in no uncertain terms the violence, he must remind the South African hooligans of their history and the fact that had it not been for the role of those who they are now killing, the black South Africans would probably not been free to kill today. Above all, Mr. Mbeki should immediately return to South Africa and visit the areas affected by the violence and address any issues which has aggrieved the warring parties.
Jacob Zuma on the other hand has also condemned the violence. Jacob Zuma is most likely going to be the next South African president. It is common knowledge that he enjoys a lot of grassroots support that borders on cult following. The truth is that those living in the affected areas would probably listen to him more than they will listen to Mbeki who is seen as very intellectual and aloof.
A lot of the mobs carrying out the killings were chanting Jacob Zuma’s victor song. Jacob Zuma must also immediately visit the affected areas and engaged with the affected people. He has simply not done enough.
Nelson Mandela celebrated of his 90th birthday. Where is Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu who is an epitome of the forgiveness which has somewhat moved South African forward. Despite the high esteem in which these men are held, I feel that they should be visible at these very trying times. It is time for the political elite in South Africa to stand up and be counted or they will all have blood in their hands.
The brutality of ethnicity and ethnic cleansing in the history of Africa is well documented. South African has its own ethnic mix. Today, it is the foreigners who are being attacked, tomorrow, it could be South Africans attacking each other along ethnic lines. This will be bad news.
Increasingly young African men and women are risking their lives to make very hazardous journeys to get out of their countries. Those who manage to get across without being killed hope for a better life-most times, these dreams hardly materialize. It is now clear that even those who successfully make the journey even to Africa are not safe. The African governments must wake up to its responsibilities and provide social infrastructure for its citizens. To those who say that South African is a model for democracy in Africa, I say again, “South Africa is too early to call”.
*Mr. Egemonye is a London based solicitor
