Xenophobia is a word that evokes negative reaction whenever it is applied to persons or countries. It is simply the display of unnecessary hatred for foreigners. It bespeaks inferiority complex and a deep feeling of insecurity on the part of those who exhibit such traits. It is insidious and has become increasingly unacceptable in a world that has virtually become a global village. Indeed, it smacks of philistinism, if not barbarism, to be possessed of such a demon.
Amazingly, South Africa is increasingly being associated with this tendency. What the country has displayed in the past few days is nothing short of maniacal violence against foreigners whose only known offence is that they are resident in the former apartheid enclave. Over the years, the death toll from the xenophobic violence that periodically erupts in the country has been rising. Nigerians in particular have been at the receiving end of this xenophobic brutality. However, what has happened in the past one week is nothing short of outright madness. It defies logic. Ultra-nationalist fools, or so they seem, have been on the rampage, killing and maiming fellow Africans for daring to seek a living in South Africa.
Agonisingly, the death toll from the senseless brutality, which seems to target nationals mainly from Zimbabwe and Nigeria, has been rising despite assurances by the South African government to check it. This tends to give the appearance of official complicity to this xenophobic frenzy. Most of the killings were reported to have taken place under the nose of the South African police. Why they could not act to stop the carnage leaves little to the imagination.
It is amazing that a country that benefited a great deal from the magnanimity of many African countries in its dark days under apartheid rule could become so hostile to fellow Africans. Yes, it may not be the official policy of South Africa to keep out foreigners. Still, it is difficult to understand why the Thabo Mbeki government seems unable to bring the madness under control. Are we to believe that the situation is beyond the control of the South African law-enforcement agencies?
Even if the victims of this rising wave of attack were illegally residing in South Africa, the right thing to do would have been to expel them, not kill them as though they were notorious felons. It is indeed ironical that South Africa which has invested heavily in other African countries, especially Nigeria, would turn out to be the grave yard of Nigerians who are trying to legitimately earn a living in that country. How so shameful! It portrays those behind this nonsense as economic buffoons.
The Nigerian government must make it clear to its South African counterpart that this unwarranted brutality against Nigerians resident in South Africa can no longer be tolerated. What if Nigerians pay back in kind to South Africans resident in Nigeria? Imagine the sort of war of attrition that this could spark. And the shame it would bring to the African continent! There is hardly any country that sacrificed as much as Nigeria did for the emancipation of South Africa from the stranglehold of apartheid. It is unjust, if not outright wicked, to treat Nigerians with the sort of hostility they get in South Africa today. Besides, where is the African spirit of brotherhood so clearly espoused in the charter of African Union. Or are South Africans a different kind of Africans? Or is it simply a case of violence, arising from jealousy. Whichever is the case, Thabo Mbeki must ensure that those behind it are decisively dealt with.
