Muntaka has hit the nail right on the head

Yesterday, The Chronicle carried a story on Page two of the paper, in which the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Asawase constituency and Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak called on African countries to stop patronising products from South Africa, as a way to protest against the xenophobic attacks on nationals of other countries in the former apartheid state.

Under the caption, “Muntaka riles over xenophobic attacks… Charges fellow Africans to boycott S/African products”, the Minority Chief Whip said, it was time other African countries stopped being too diplomatic to critical issues and point out the wrongs being perpetrated by the South Africans, who, mostly depend on the other countries to sell their products.

According to the paper, the Asawase MP pointed out that even though the President of South Africa and other ministers of state had given some assurances way back in 2015, promising Africans of their safety in that country and the fact that they would ensure that the perpetrators were brought to book, the attacks still persist.

“Mr. Speaker, as we speak today, nothing has been done, even though some of the attackers were caught on camera.

“Mr. Speaker, you said our comments should be guided, because of diplomacy, but my worry is for how long can we continue to do this kind of diplomacy while our people continue to suffer?” he queried.

He urged other African countries to unite “not to violently also attack properties of South Africa in our countries, not to violently attack their citizens in our countries, but to boycott their products”, explaining that if other African countries begin to boycott all South African products, they will begin to feel the heat at home and that will make them know that we need each other.

We, at The Chronicle, believe the Minority Chief Whip has hit the nail right on the head, considering the fact that the attitude of our brothers and sisters in South Africa can only be described as ingratitude.

To begin with, a number of African countries contributed in no small measure to ensure that the xenophobic-infected ingrates, who today are attacking nationals from other African countries, were freed from their torments at the hands of their colonial masters.

Until 1960, the African National Congress' (ANC's) fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa yielded little result, because the Western countries showed no concern to the suffering of black South Africans, and instead supported the colonial masters.

Things began to turn around when African countries started gaining independence in the 1960s, and decided to help the ANC.

The only Prime Minister in Nigeria's history, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, led a vocal protest against the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 and entered into an alliance with Commonwealth ministers who wanted South Africa to leave the Commonwealth in 1961.

Between 1960 and 1995, Nigeria alone spent over US$61 billion to end apartheid in the country, according to the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Nigerian citizens were asked to make tax-deductible donations to support the ANC since the 1970s, and students across Nigerian universities and schools would sometimes forfeit their lunch to donate the money to the ANC.

Nigeria opened the doors of its elite secondary schools, federal government colleges and universities like University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria and University of Ife among others to South Africans, to be educated to at least acquire a bachelor degree.

Many of the ANC combatants who arrived in Nigeria with body scars and diverse emotional traumas were not only provided education, but they were also given extra help, including finance.

Nigeria also paid for hundreds of South Africans to be educated and graduate in Europe and North America.

Nelson Mandela, in 1962 left South Africa to meet many African political leaders and garner assistance for the ANC, including money and training for its military wing.

He met the likes of Emperor Haile Selassie I in Addis Ababa; the latter agreed to train Mandela and other ANC agents.

In Egypt, Mandela met with President Gamal Abdel Nasser, President Habib Bourguiba in Tunisia, where he gave Mandela £5000 for weaponry.

He was also in Morocco, Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Senegal, where he received funds from Liberian President, William Tubman and Guinean President Ahmed Sékou Touré.

Perhaps this trip was the turning point in the ANC's struggle for freedom. Within a year, the whole continent's airspace was blocked to South African airlines, except the Angola transit point, because Angola was still occupied by the Portuguese.

Egypt banned South African ships from entering its ports, Ivory Coast closed seaports and airports to South Africa and Portugal. Ethiopia closed its airspace to South African aircrafts. Cameroon closed its sea and airports to both Portugal and South Africa.

Guinea broke off diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations with South Africa and Portugal, and banned the entry of their nationals into Guinea. Sudan closed its sea and airports to South Africa and Portugal.

Mauritius closed its sea and airports to South Africa and Portugal. Libya closed her sea and airports to South Africa and Portugal and denied them flying rights. Chad closed its airspace to South Africa and Portuguese aircrafts, as well as to all other planes carrying goods or passengers to or from the two countries.

Today, after gaining their freedom, South African nationals have shops all over the continent selling products made in the country. In Ghana, for example the biggest shopping malls are being run by South African nationals.

It is against this backdrop that The Chronicle shares the opinion of the Minority Chief Whip that the same way that other African countries rallied behind the South Africans in their time of need, we should unite and stop patronizing products from their shops in our respective countries and this would prompt them to put an end to this xenophobic attitude.