South Africa: A Nation Of Ingrates – By Dr. Azowue O. Emmanuel

South Africa: A Nation Of Ingrates – By Dr. Azowue O. Emmanuel

The South African authority has shown beyond every reasonable doubt that it is not irresponsible, but also a complicit to the incessant xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans living in that country

Ingratitude is one of the greatest acts of vice a nation can afford to exhibit in times of trouble against the same people that gave their all to see them through colonial struggle

The struggle against apartheid in South Africa was never fought by South Africans alone. It was sustained by the moral, diplomatic, financial, and political support of many African nations that believed the oppression of one African people was an affront to the dignity of the entire continent. Countries such as Nigeria, Zambia, Tanzania, Angola, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and others stood firmly behind the liberation movement, often at great economic and political cost. Among them, Nigeria emerged as one of the most generous and unwavering supporters of the anti-apartheid struggle. It is therefore understandable that many Africans, particularly Nigerians, feel disappointed by recurring incidents of xenophobic violence in post-apartheid South Africa. These attacks have raised painful questions about gratitude, African solidarity, and the ideals upon which the “Rainbow Nation” was built.

Nigeria’s contribution to the liberation of South Africa remains one of the most remarkable examples of Pan-African solidarity. For decades, successive Nigerian governments provided financial assistance to liberation movements, imposed sanctions against the apartheid regime, championed South Africa’s cause at international forums, and established the Southern African Relief Fund through which ordinary Nigerians voluntarily contributed to the struggle. Nigerian students, workers, and civil servants sacrificed part of their earnings to support a people they had never met, driven by the conviction that Africa’s freedom was indivisible.

Beyond Nigeria, several African countries paid enormous prices for supporting the liberation struggle. Zambia and Tanzania hosted liberation fighters despite the security threats this attracted. Angola became a battlefield partly because of its support for anti-apartheid movements. Botswana endured repeated military incursions by the apartheid regime. Across the continent, African leaders spoke with one voice against racial oppression, believing that the liberation of South Africa would mark the triumph of African unity over colonial injustice.

The democratic transition of 1994 was therefore celebrated not only in South Africa but across Africa. It symbolized the victory of justice, equality, and the collective resolve of a continent determined to end institutionalized racism. Many Africans expected that a democratic South Africa would become a beacon of Pan-Africanism, embracing fellow Africans as brothers and sisters who had stood by them during their darkest years.

Unfortunately, the persistence of xenophobic attacks against African migrants has cast a shadow over that expectation. In several outbreaks over the past two decades, foreign nationals, many of them Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Somalis, Ethiopians, Congolese, and other Africans have been assaulted, displaced, robbed, and, in some tragic cases, killed. Businesses owned by African migrants have been looted and destroyed, while many victims have lived in constant fear of renewed violence. These incidents have generated outrage across the continent and strained South Africa’s diplomatic relations with fellow African states.

For Nigerians, the pain runs particularly deep. Many see these attacks as a betrayal of the sacrifices Nigeria made during South Africa’s liberation struggle. It appears ironic that citizens of a nation whose freedom was secured with the support of fellow Africans would later turn against those very Africans in times of economic hardship. Such actions create the impression that history has been forgotten and that the principles of African brotherhood have been replaced by suspicion and hostility.

Nevertheless, it would be unfair to characterize every South African as xenophobic or ungrateful. Many South Africans have condemned these attacks, protected foreign nationals during periods of unrest, and worked tirelessly to promote peaceful coexistence. Civil society organizations, religious institutions, traditional leaders, and government officials have repeatedly spoken against xenophobia and emphasized that violence does not represent the values of the South African Constitution. The problem therefore lies not with an entire nation but with extremist attitudes, socio-economic frustrations, weak law enforcement, and political rhetoric that sometimes scapegoats’ foreigners for unemployment, crime, and inequality.

South Africa’s economic challenges, including high unemployment, poverty, inequality, and inadequate public services have created fertile ground for resentment against migrants. However, these challenges cannot justify violence against innocent people who have come seeking better opportunities or who contribute positively to the country’s economy. Blaming foreigners for structural economic problems neither solves unemployment nor advances national development.

The lessons of history demand a different path. South Africa’s freedom was built upon the sacrifices of Africans from every corner of the continent. That history should inspire deeper continental solidarity rather than hostility. African nations must continue to strengthen economic cooperation, improve migration management, educate younger generations about the shared history of the anti-apartheid struggle, and promote the ideals of Pan-Africanism championed by leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, and Olusegun Obasanjo.

Therefore, whether South Africa should be described as “a nation of ingrates” remains a matter of opinion rather than objective fact. While recurring xenophobic attacks have understandably disappointed many Africans and appear inconsistent with the solidarity once shown to South Africa, they should not erase the contributions of countless South Africans who reject hatred and continue to uphold the ideals of equality and African unity. The greater challenge is ensuring that the sacrifices made during the anti-apartheid struggle are neither forgotten nor betrayed. The true measure of South Africa’s democratic success will not only be how it remembers its liberation but also how it treats the fellow Africans who once stood with it when freedom was only a dream.

Until then, there was indeed a country!