Xenophobia: Obasanjo writes South Africa’s Buthelezi

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Monday, joined the growing list of world leaders putting pressure on the government and people of South Africa to put an end to xenophobic attacks on foreigners, especially fellow Africans.

The former Nigerian President, in the letter, urged the African countries, whose citizens were targeted in the attacks to report to the African Union.

That’s not all. Obasanjo also advised the affected countries, including Nigeria, to take other measures if the first option failed to yield the desired results.

In the letter addressed to the founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party, in South Africa, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Obasanjo urged  the affected African countries to table appropriate motions at the African Union as a first option and consider other measures if the situation continues unabated.

He described xenophobic attacks on foreigners by South Africans as a great disservice to Africa and called for urgent reconciliation between the xenophobic countries and  South Africa.

Obasanjo’s words: “For any African country to encourage or allow or not seriously sanction xenophobia against Africans in their country is a great disservice not only to the country where xenophobia takes place and the countries of the victims concerned, but also a great disservice to the whole of Africa and black race.

“At this juncture, there is need for fence-mending, reconciliation and wound-binding between South Africa and the countries whose citizens have been victims of xenophobia and Afrophobia in South Africa.

“As a suggestion, South Africa should send emissaries to the countries concerned to explain, apologise and agree on the way forward for mutual understanding, accommodation, reconciliation, and binding the wound to promote unity, concord, and brotherhood in Africa.

“Repatriation of Nigerians from South Africa is obviously not a permanent solution. At best it is palliative. But the hurt will still remain for some time. Neither is revenge a desirable solution. Mutual understanding and acknowledgement of what needs to be done on all sides is imperative and getting down to doing them is the solution that will serve Nigeria and South Africa and indeed Africa well particularly in this era of Africa Continental Free Trade Area opportunities.

“Nigeria and South Africa must stand together to champion African cause and to jointly shepherd African development, unity, cooperation, security, and progress to make the 21st century Africa’s century”.