By ODILIM ENWEGBARA
Whenever I hear the government of South Africa justifying the killings of Nigerians and other Africans in their country, I wonder what makes the South African criminal saints!
During my short stay in South Africa — two months — all the way from the United Sates, I was robbed twice in Pretoria not by Nigerians but by South Africans.
So, it is quite unfortunate for authorities in South Africa to just blame Nigerians for its security agencies inability to fight crime. Let’s not forget that South Africa is the most corrupt country in Africa.
What I expected from a reasonable and Pan-Africanist South African Government would have been to organise a joint taskforce between South African and Nigerian security agencies in fighting crimes after all we are all brothers.
The two countries should have been working together to fight all forms of vices by their youths be it in South Africa or in the two countries. Who said that that cannot be done?
The economic crimes committed by South African businesses like MTN, Shoprite, DSTV, Bon Hotel franchise, etc. and the crippling effects of the economic sabotage to the economy of Nigeria have not forced Nigeria to allow its citizens to wantonly take the law into their hands.
So, for anyone to ceaselessly try to have the gut to argue that the killing of citizens of Nigeria and the destruction of their businesses are a civilised way to go about it, such a person must have to be subjected to a serious psychiatric examination.
That is why we must take the full diplomatic battle to the South African government. There must be a class action against South African government where both Africans living in South Africa must sue the government of South Africa in their respective countries with full claims of the damages to their businesses.
Nigerians who lost their loved ones, as well as Nigerians who lost their businesses, must approach lawyers here in Nigeria and once awards are made, South African assets in Nigeria, including private South African investors’ assets, should be confiscated, sold and the money generated from them be paid to these Nigerians as compensations.
African Union must have an emergency meeting where all African countries cut off diplomatic ties with South Africa, expel South Africa from all the continental bodies starting with AU itself. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) too must withdraw South Africa’s membership with immediate effect along with full economic embargo.
South African Airways must be banned from landing in any African cities along with all direct air travels with South Africa suspended.
Embargo on South African goods and services must be fully enforced across the continent with any African country or citizen doing business with south Africa heavily fined.
African trade with non-African must include a condition that those countries doing business with South Africa must be automatically banned from doing business with the rest of the continent.
During the next ten years visas to South Africans must be suspended across the continent.
Besides, African Union must seek the suspension of South Africa from the UN and all multilateral bodies of the world.
Odilim, a Development Economist writes from Abuja.
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