Fani-Kayode urges South Africa to replace xenophobia with Pan-Africanism

Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has called on South Africa to embrace Pan-Africanism and reject xenophobic sentiments that have fuelled attacks on Nigerians and other African nationals in the country. Fani-Kayode made the call on Saturday while speaking at the inaugural Nigerian Fair held at the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg.

He recalled Nigeria’s contributions, alongside other African countries, to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, stressing that the liberation movement was a collective African effort. “It wasn’t a black South African struggle. It was a struggle that every nation in Africa led primarily by the frontline states and Nigeria, and every decent civilized nation in the world supported,” he said.

The high commissioner urged South Africans not to forget the sacrifices made by Nigeria and other African countries towards ending apartheid. He said Nigeria and the rest of Africa had a stake in South Africa’s development because of their contributions to the country’s liberation. Fani-Kayode described xenophobic attacks as a retrogressive sentiment, urging African countries to strengthen solidarity and cooperation.

“We must understand that the world is coming together as one, and we must stand together as one,” he said. He claimed that Nigeria contributed no less than $61 billion to the anti-apartheid struggle between 1960 and 1994, adding that the country also deployed troops to frontline states in support of the campaign against the apartheid regime. He cited the introduction of the “Mandela Tax”, through which Nigerian civil servants contributed financially to the struggle, as one of the country’s solidarity measures.

“Nigeria did so much. Mandela tax — we imposed a tax on our own civil servants during the course of the struggle, and that money was channelled to the ANC,” he said. He added that Nigerian schoolchildren also contributed their lunch money to support the struggle, while the country consistently advocated South Africa’s liberation at the United Nations and other international platforms.

Fani-Kayode called for stronger ties between Nigeria and South Africa, urging both countries to build bridges of friendship, fraternity and mutual respect. He described perpetrators of xenophobic attacks as a minority driven by what he called Afrophobia and xenophobia. The high commissioner said Nigeria must continue to promote African unity and avoid actions that could further strain relations between the two countries.

He also said Nigeria would not sever its economic ties with South Africa despite calls by some Nigerians for such a move, although he acknowledged that patience was wearing thin within the corridors of power. Fani-Kayode assured Nigerians living in South Africa that the Federal Government would continue to take steps to protect their interests and ensure their welfare.