Nigeria–South Africa: When History Knocks On The Door Of The Present

The Question Nobody Wants to Ask: Has South Africa Forgotten Who Stood With It During Apartheid?

The recent wave of attacks, intimidation, looting, and violence targeting Nigerians in South Africa has once again reopened one of Africa's most painful and uncomfortable debates: How did two of Africa's most influential nations become trapped in a cycle of mistrust, resentment, and recurring diplomatic tensions?

In response to the latest incidents, Nigeria's House of Representatives has recommended the temporary suspension of business permits for South African companies operating in Nigeria. The Senate has also resolved to dispatch a high-level delegation led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio to Pretoria to formally convey Nigeria's displeasure.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Bianca Ojukwu announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved five Air Peace evacuation flights and directed the immediate establishment of a crisis response unit at Nigeria's diplomatic missions in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

These are not routine diplomatic actions. They are signals that a relationship once celebrated as a symbol of African solidarity is approaching another dangerous crossroads.

But beneath the politics lies a deeper question:

What happens when a nation that once received Africa's solidarity becomes accused of turning against fellow Africans?

The Historical Debt Many Have Forgotten
To understand the emotional intensity of Nigeria's reaction, one must revisit history.

During the dark years of apartheid, Nigeria was among South Africa's strongest allies despite being thousands of kilometres away.

Successive Nigerian governments provided financial support to anti-apartheid movements. Nigerian workers contributed through the famous "Mandela Tax," where funds were raised to support South Africa's liberation struggle. Scholarships were created for South African students. Diplomatic pressure was applied globally to isolate the apartheid regime.

Many Nigerians sacrificed economically and politically because they believed the freedom of South Africans was an African responsibility.

The uncomfortable question today is:
If Nigeria had remained silent during apartheid, would South Africa's liberation have arrived as quickly as it did?

That question may be uncomfortable, but it explains why many Nigerians view attacks on their citizens not merely as criminal acts but as a betrayal of historical solidarity.

The Roots of Xenophobia
South Africa's xenophobia did not emerge overnight.

The country continues to struggle with some of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Economic inequality remains severe despite three decades of democracy. Millions of young people face limited opportunities.

In such environments, foreign nationals often become convenient scapegoats.

Instead of asking why economic growth has failed to create enough jobs, some political actors and community leaders direct public frustration toward immigrants.

Foreigners are accused of taking jobs.
Foreigners are blamed for crime.
Foreigners are accused of controlling businesses.

Yet the evidence often paints a more complex picture.

Many immigrants are entrepreneurs who create jobs rather than take them. Others occupy sectors that struggle to attract sufficient local labour.

The question nobody wants to ask is:
If all foreign Africans left South Africa tomorrow, would unemployment disappear?

The answer is almost certainly no.
The Cost to Nigeria
For Nigeria, the consequences are immediate and painful.

Families lose businesses.
Children miss school because parents fear attacks.

Investments are destroyed.
Lives are disrupted.
The psychological impact may be even greater than the economic losses.

Many Nigerians who migrated legally to South Africa did so believing in the vision of African unity. When they become targets of violence, that vision suffers a devastating blow.

Another question emerges:
How can Africa promote continental integration while Africans are attacked for being African?

The Cost to South Africa
South Africans should also ask themselves a difficult question:

What is the long-term price of xenophobia?
The answer extends beyond damaged diplomatic relations.

South Africa has spent decades positioning itself as Africa's economic gateway.

Foreign investors monitor social stability carefully.

Images of burning shops, displaced migrants, and anti-foreigner violence create concerns about security and predictability.

Tourism can suffer.
Investment confidence can weaken.
Regional influence can decline.
Even more importantly, South Africa risks damaging its moral authority.

A nation that emerged from the injustice of apartheid carries a unique responsibility to reject discrimination in all forms.

When foreigners are attacked because of their nationality, critics inevitably ask:

Is xenophobia becoming a new form of exclusion in a country that fought so hard against exclusion?

The Economic Battlefield
Nigeria's proposal to suspend permits for South African companies introduces another layer of complexity.

South African firms have invested billions across Nigeria, particularly in telecommunications, banking, retail, and entertainment.

Retaliatory measures may satisfy public anger, but they also carry risks.

If restrictions are imposed, South African businesses could suffer losses.

Yet Nigerian consumers and workers may also be affected.

This raises another uncomfortable question:
Who wins an economic confrontation between Africa's two largest economic powers?

The likely answer is nobody.
Economic nationalism often produces casualties on both sides.

What Governments Are Thinking
The Nigerian government appears to be balancing two objectives.

First, it must demonstrate that it will protect its citizens wherever they reside.

Second, it seeks to avoid a complete diplomatic breakdown with South Africa.

The deployment of evacuation flights sends a message of protection.

The Senate delegation sends a message of diplomacy.

The proposed business restrictions send a message of pressure.

Together, they form a strategy combining humanitarian action, diplomatic engagement, and economic leverage.

South Africa's government faces a different challenge.

It must reassure foreign nationals while also addressing domestic frustrations that fuel xenophobic sentiments.

Failure to act decisively risks international embarrassment and further diplomatic isolation.

The Bigger African Question
Beyond Nigeria and South Africa lies a continental challenge.

The African Continental Free Trade Area was built on the idea that Africans should trade, travel, and prosper together.

But agreements signed in conference rooms mean little if ordinary Africans fear one another on the streets.

Perhaps the most important question of all is this:

Can Africa achieve economic unity before achieving social unity?

The answer may determine the future of the continent.

A Moment for Reflection
Nigeria and South Africa are not ordinary countries.

Together they account for a significant share of Africa's economy, population, diplomatic influence, cultural output, and intellectual capital.

When they cooperate, Africa advances.
When they clash, the entire continent feels the consequences.

History remembers that Nigeria stood with South Africa during apartheid.

The present demands that South Africa stand firmly against xenophobia.

The future depends on whether both nations choose partnership over retaliation.

Because if Africa's two giants cannot trust each other, the dream of a united and prosperous continent becomes far harder to achieve.

And perhaps the final question nobody wants to ask is the one that matters most:

If Nelson Mandela were alive today, what would he say about Africans attacking fellow Africans in the land he fought to liberate?

By:
Patrick Belebang Yagsori
+233240292413
patrickbelebang@gmail.com

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