Xenophobia in South Africa: The Black Man’s Wickedness to Fellow Blacks

Xenophobia in South Africa: there is no gainsaying it, the Black man can be ridiculous sometimes. We keep blaming the white man for our backward and tainted souls but South Africa is evidence enough that we are just evil people. Truly, sometimes it seems the Black man needs redemption. One minute, the whole of Africa is fighting for the Apartheid rule to collapse,  the next minute the rule collapse but the South African creates his own kind of Apartheid. “Every South African Black is more equal than other Blacks” and somehow only South African lives now matter to these same people who were once oppressed under similar ideologies.

Is this not a case of a slave who takes over from his slave driver to do even worse than was done to him? The killing of Nigerians in South Africa needs to stop! It is even more appalling that security personnel are involved in these extra judicial killings.  Let this be known to South Africans: just in case you get your wish and Nigerians leave your country, you will still turn on your own brothers and kill each other. The spirit of unhealthy rivalry and entitlement is so rife amongst Africans that we think opportunities should be handed to us.

Just as there are South Africans who own major businesses all over the world, there are foreigners all over South Africa working hard to make a living. It is nobody’s fault that opportunities are limited, neither is it anybody’s right to be handed opportunities they are expected to work for.  The National Association of Nigerian Students has given a 48 hour ultimatum for South African companies in Nigeria to leave. Is this not another form of Apartheid? Of separation and segregation?

Are these South Africans really honouring the spirit of Mandiba? Is this how he would have expected the African continent to disintegrate into selfish colonies of sectionalism and wicked blacks?  This is shameful, disgraceful and totally wicked. It seems indeed there may be a majority of us have just chosen to imitate the slave culture,  colonialist and divisive culture that was used by the white to hold many of us in captivity.

Nigerians contribute immensely to Africa but then it seems our open gestures to other black nations are only receiving hostility and disrespect,  maybe it is time we look back home. I hope this terrible situation will call our senses back and give us more incentive to invest in our own land.