South Africa’s Consul General Sues for Healing, Reconciliation
• Says Nigeria stood by ‘us’ when the world remained silent
•’Let us fall in love again with each other’s land’
Dike Onwuamaeze
Consul General of South Africa in Lagos, Professor Bobby J. Moroe, has called for healing and reconciliation between Nigeria and South Africa following anti-migrant violence in that country and other acts of criminality against foreigners by vigilante groups.
With passion and reason in his tone, Moroe declared that perpetrators of the xenophobic violence did not represent the soul of South Africa.
Moroe made the call yesterday in Lagos when he delivered the keynote speech at Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce’s Breakfast Forum, themed, “The Future of Nigeria-South Africa Relations: Advancing Bilateral Cooperation in a Changing World.”
He stated that the government of South Africa clearly condemned the acts of criminality against foreigners, adding that law enforcement officers have arrested over 80 suspected culprits in six provinces of the country and would soon prosecute them.
Moroe said the two countries should “reconcile, remember and work together towards the creation of a better future for our people”, especially in this month of July that is dedicated to late President Nelson Mandela, who would have been saddened, if he was still alive, “by the emerging trends, and acts of criminality against foreign nationals by vigilante groups”.
According to Moroe, “In South Africa, we have witnessed acts of criminality by vigilante groups calling for illegal migrants to return back home and taking the law into their own hands.
“Let me make it clear: the South African constitution protects both regular and irregular migrants and only competent law enforcement agencies and immigration officers have the legal standing to handle migration issues.
“In Nigeria, we have seen reprisals and push back as a direct response to what is perceived to be a total onslaught by the South African government against migrants. But that is fake news.”
Moroe said, “These acts seek to undermine us and the foundations upon which our democracy was founded.
“But they will never break. What is built on sacrifice does not crumble easily.”
He recalled that in previous years, Nigeria and South Africa had sat at the table and resolved their differences because “family does not walk away when it gets difficult. Family leans in. Family builds a roof together when it rains”.
Moroe stated, “This year we mark 32 years of unbroken diplomatic relations between our countries.
“Thirty-two years – built not on paper, but on blood, on solidarity, and on sacrifice.
“Nigeria stood with us when the world was silent.
“You funded our freedom. You carried our struggle in your chest.
“Our struggle was your struggle, our pain was your pain, and indeed, our freedom is your freedom.”
Moroe asked, “How then can a moment of anger erase a lifetime of solidarity? Let us fall in love again with each other’s land.”
The consul-general, however, remarked that “healing, just as reconciliation, cannot live on words alone but must live in our work, in our trade and in the things we build together”.
He said it was the duty of both South Africa and Nigeria, as responsible countries, to create a conducive socio-economic environment within which jobs were created, economies grew, and poverty became a thing of the past.
Moroe said, “It is the responsibility of both the sending and receiving states to safeguard their respective citizens, and those of other states.
“The future requires shared responsibility amongst nation states.
“When we protect people and create jobs, we protect relationships.
“It is the responsibility of both South Africa and Nigeria to do so.
“Let us ensure that the wealth from our land creates jobs.”
The consul-general said Nigeria and South Africa must speak with one voice in calling for reforms that would give Africa two permanent seats with veto powers in the United Nations Security Council.
He stated, “Nigeria and South Africa must speak with one voice. We must demand two permanent seats for Africa, with all prerogatives. Not as a favour. But as a right.
“We must also reform the Bretton Woods institutions. Voting rights must reflect the economies of today, not 1944.”
Moroe added that under the African Continental Free Trade Area, Nigeria and South Africa must lead, not as competitors, but as partners, and must ensure that in the current globalising world, the dividends from trade stayed on the continent and created jobs for the youth as a direct response to the challenges posed my migration in Africa.