We are Africans, our forefathers suffered greatly under the authority of the colonial masters. They fought for our independence and got it by sacrificing their existence. As Africans, we have one thing in common which is the history of our struggle throughout the years of slavery.
We are Africans but some choose to be outcast. Africans attacking one another and segregating against nationalities is not the best option. Over the years, we have learnt about the struggles of the nation, South Africa. We grew up to respect Nelson Mandela and loved him for the good values he preached. Late Nelson Mandela must be very dissapointed to see the same people whose freedom he suffered for, now attacking Nigerians and other Africans, forgetting the support rendered to them during their years of apartheid. We ought to say no to xenophobia and see one another as a race, the African race!
People ran for their lives from the northern parts of Nigeria because of the insurgency. Even in South Africa , Nigerians who are there to seek greener pastures also got attacked . When will this end? Is our government still sleeping? When will Nigeria get better? We need to fix Nigeria!
War outside, war inside…when exactly are we going to enjoy steady peace in Nigeria? We need a reliable structure , a system which will enable Nigerians to thrive. We can’t always take our ideas abroad and get punished for it just like the recent killings of Nigerians in South Africa. We definitely need a revolution, this is the solution. Nigeria has to be better, this is the greatest assurance we can have as citizens.
It can be recalled from history that Nigerians had been of great help to South Africans during their years of apartheid. As written and cited by ANA-CAJ , apartheid is one dark era in the history of South Africa. Nigeria was the first country to provide direct financial aid to the now ruling African National Congress ( ANC) from the 1960s while in the 1970s, Nigeria supported the ANC and Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) with an annual contribution of $5 million to help them in the struggle.
Nigeria set up a program to cater specifically for the South Africans’ educational needs and general welfare through the Southern African Relief Fund (SAFR) under the administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo , who contributed $3.7 million. Nigerian’s civil servants were also made to give 2 percent of their income to the fund, then known as “Mandela tax”. According to SAFR , 86 South African students were educated in Nigeria for free. How then could South Africans forget all these and settle for violence?
Nigerians attacking Nigerians, South African attacking Nigerians, Africans attacking one another…when will there be an end to this violence? Our leaders are sitting in their offices while the citizens are busy killing one another. How long will it take before we snap out of this mental slavery? When will we become wise and realise that violence is never the solution? The solution we ought to seek is a revolution . Remember that quote stated by Mahatama Ghandi, “An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind”.
