Xenophobic Attack: A Cancerous Epidemic

By Dauda Taoheed

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Garvey

South-Africa has easily forgotten their history. The country birth pain has vanished facilely. If not, the bizarre path that they are treading wouldn’t have been their repeated chosen route. When the bag of history is buried, an army of problems will ensue.

Going down the historical slope when things are difficult for the South Africans; when the ends are not showing the positive green light of meeting; when racial segregation is at peak and; when development is fast retrogressing. Nigeria clothes South-Africa. Nigeria, like other Africa countries, supported the South Africa anti-apartheid movement and contributed immensely in the fight against it.

The sardonic occurrence of gruesome killings of Africans and arsonous handiwork of South Africans unleashed on foreigners which the craven giant of Africa has the highest number of casualty is a symbolic demonstration of incongruous Africa and a harmful virus in the stream of the black race.

Quoting verbatim, the words of Deputy Police Minister of South-Africa, Bongani Mkongi, vomiting debris of words that the horrific happenings in the country is not xenophobic but a fight against economic sabotage, prevention against having a foreign president. This outrageous and venomous statement emanating from the epicenter of the state affirmed that the South-Africa government is in support of this xenophobic outbreak. If not, the mayhem would’ve been nipped off in the bud. And combating the poisonous infusion with a reactive antidote from the same nucleus that spat out the conflictual wordings is very important.

Does an Island of autonomy exist? Irrefutable no! The autarky exhibition of South Africa as a polity that disengages herself from the umbilical cord of Africa and claiming self-sufficiency through the looting of aliens shops and businesses, termination of their fellow Negro lives and not remorsefully ashamed of flouting the AU treaty of respect for human rights and peaceful co-existence. This is not a time to enclave the continent with a dissonance canopy but an hour to quarantined the region from a virulent tendency and to jointly harness our resources, enthroning visionary leaders who will take us through the roadmap that leads to development.

The wise one has opined that; “before a whitlow turns into an awful sore, a precautionary motive should be sought.” However, the Nigeria government has rubbished the elders’ statement with her lackadaisical attitude of forsaking her responsibilities of providing a conducive environment where businesses and economic activities can thrive. The half-hearted and egocentric nature of our leader forces many Nigerians to search for greener pastures in this vulturish land of no return and enslavement. A country that fails to protect her citizenry in her own shore will have nothing to offer outside her bank. It is not a doubt that Nigerians have been a mortgage to the god of Iron inwardly and outsourcing for an accomplice to aggravate the massacre is a compound interest that the Nigeria feudal lord opted for. Correcting and repositioning the concave economical ordeal of Nigeria will put a stop to the global insult and the ill-treatment meted out to Nigerians in Diaspora.

Undeniable, my downhearted mood was braided with felicity when the report of countries like Rwanda, Malawi and; Republic of Congo pulled out of the World Economic Forum taking place in Cape Town this weekend and also is Zambia called off, of her friendly match against South-Africa in Lusaka on Saturday. This drastic step taken by some Africa countries is a welcome development, and we anticipate for other countries to join the league and express their dissatisfaction against the atrocious act. In the same ring of condemnation, the pulled out of Nigeria from WEF is not the zenith of expressing resentment. The Nigeria emperor, President Muhammadu Buhari should water the flower of hope in the heart of the citizens of the country by meeting the President of South-Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa and ensures that the perpetrators face the brunt of the law. More so, is the rehabilitation and compensation of the victims. The meeting of the two masters should not relegate the permanent disposal of a xenophobic trait in Africa biological system.

Highlighting the thievery disposition of some Nigerians in the supermarket stores of Shoprite, ceasing the protest opportunity to steal and cart away the stores’ goods is a reprehensible act and a misappropriation of priority. We have been blindfolded by the flare of the xenophobic attack to the deteriorating extent of having a despicable retaliation on MTN and Shoprite. It’s a thirsty move we plunge into to moisten our dried-up throat. Sadly, in this case, it’s an absolute ignorance way of adding salt to a wound. Shoprite is a franchise outlet in Nigeria with some Nigerians shares, having a workforce of Nigerians. Demolishing and setting of MTN or Shoprite on fire is an imprudent way of compounding the population of unemployed Nigerians. The Yoruba adage has captured it all that if we incautiously throw a stone into the market, one’s relationship might suffer from its repercussion. The traces of this proverb can be seen in the recorded death of a Lagosian at the Circle Mall, Jakande, in Lekki area of Lagos state. Taking laws into our hands would not solve issues but instead, worsen it.

We believe that those in the realm of affair at all levels of authority would rise up against this monstrous cause, extinguish the conflagration house, re-engineer the depository land of honey into a soothing abode and to free Nigerians from this thralldom state, not narrowly to South Africa but across the continent. Africans should feel safe wherever they emigrate to, especially within their home nation.

Dauda Taoheed is a serving corp member in Abeokuta he can be reached via 08147604494