The din of the voices of world leaders drowned the thud of the rains on Tuesday as they defied the early morning showers to pay poignant tributes to the late global icon, Nelson Mandela, at a memorial service held in his honour on Tuesday in Soweto, South Africa but the voice of Nigeria, which played a prominent role in snuffing life out of apartheid system of government in the country and ensuring the release of the Madiba from prison after 27 years of incarceration, was muted as Nigeria was not listed among countries to pay tribute to Mandela.
This has resulted in a ricochet of protests across the country as many Nigerians believe that the contributions of the country to free both South Africa and Mandela should have qualified the country for a pride of place at the event.
Many Nigerians who commented on Twitter and Facebook condemned the organisers for overlooking Nigeria, describing it as repaying evil with good.
While the platform was yielded to United States’ President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose countries not only egged on the repressive apartheid regime in South Africa but also labelled Mandela a terrorist, as well as countries like Namibia, India and China, Nigeria was not given any chance to pay tribute to the man Nigerians from all walks of life fought tooth and nail to save from the claws of his oppressors.
Most Nigerians see the shabby treatment handed down to Nigeria at the ceremony as a continuation of the disdain with which many South Africans treat Nigerians.
Immediately after the collapse of apartheid, leaders of the country had sought the support of experts from Nigeria with many Nigerians heeding the call and contributing intellectually, financially and physically to the development of the country. Many invested their money in businesses in the country but shortly afterwards, South Africans turned against Nigerians. Nigerians are hunted and killed like game; they have become the target of hate campaigns by South Africans. Every Nigeria is viewed as a drug dealer or a death merchant and is thus subjected to extreme ridicule and subhuman treatment.
Even the revered Africa’s first Nobel laureate in literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, was not spared the animosity that oozes easily from South Africans to Nigerians. The wordsmith had been invited to South Africa to deliver a lecture to mark the birthday of Nelson Mandela but on arriving at the airport, despite having valid documents, he was delayed endlessly by South African immigration officers and was at the verge of being returned to Nigeria without accomplishing his mission in South Africa but for the intervention of Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel. If a Nigerian of Soyinka’s status could be so treated despite possessing valid papers, it could be imagined how other Nigerians.
This is probably why Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State could not hold back harsh words for South Africans while paying tribute to Mandela on Monday. The governor had wondered why in spite of the huge sacrifice made by Nigeria to free South Africa from the claws of imperialists, Nigerians are being subjected to ridicule by South Africans.
According to the governor, “Nigeria paid a huge price for what South Africa has become today. I remember the anti-apartheid campaign was at the core of Nigerian foreign policy.” He then wondered why the British, who supported apartheid, could enter the country without any hassle while Nigerians needed a visa.
He added, “When you look at the part of the world where ovation is now the loudest, it was the part from where the pain was the most vicious. In a very cruel irony, history is being revised.
“The people, who collaborated with the government that enthroned apartheid at that time, are the people that are paying the biggest tribute now.”
The contribution of Nigerians to freeing both South Africa and Mandela was monumental. The commitment of Nigerians to put an end to apartheid in South Africa was so intense that the country was considered a leader of the Frontline States established to achieve democratic majority rule in South Africa. The group raised funds and soldiers to prosecute war against apartheid. Other members included Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Nigeria played a vital role in the establishment of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid (UNSCAA). This was partly responsible for Nigeria occupying the chair of the committee more than any other country until it was scrapped.
Nigeria also established the Southern African Relief Fund (SARF), which was funded with deductions from the salary of every Nigerian worker, irrespective of rank, both in the public and private sectors as well as donations from ordinary Nigerians, including students.
The fund was disbursed by African National Congress (ANC) leaders and members as they saw fit.
Nigeria also provided scholarships for students from South Africa while South African freedom fighters whose passports were seized by the government were given Nigerian passports. Whenever South Africans protested against injustice, Nigerian students also took to the streets in support and solidarity. Nigerian musicians waxed albums in support of the anti-apartheid struggle, while Nigerian poets wrote poems to condemn racism in South Africa.
Nigeria never let go of any opportunity to denounce apartheid; Commonwealth Games were boycotted while the assets of British Petroleum (BP) were nationalised. Nigeria was a friend to those who opposed apartheid and an enemy to friends of the racists.
Confirming the contributions of Nigeria to waging a successful war against apartheid, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) foreign relations head, Major General Daniel Mofokeng, recently praised the Nigerian Armed forces for its support against apartheid.
Mofokeng said Nigeria was in the forefront in the struggle against apartheid and that the country made huge sacrifices for the liberation of South Africa from minority rule.
According to him, Nigeria also offered military training and support to assist the African National Congress. He added that Nigeria’s efforts in ending apartheid could not be over-emphasised.
“I must say the relations between the two countries most especially before 1994; has been extra ordinary in the sense that Nigeria was in the forefront in the anti-apartheid struggle. It assisted and trained our cadre, our students and military students then. So I must say the cooperation between the two has been very great indeed.”
However, the question on the lips of most Nigerians is that if Nigerians made so much sacrifice for South Africans do they deserve the ignominy they are subjected to by South Africans?
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