Without Nigeria, apartheid wouldn’t have ended in South Africa — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says South Africa would not have ended apartheid when it did without Nigeria’s support for the struggle against white minority rule.

Obasanjo said Nigeria’s involvement in the anti-apartheid campaign was driven by the conviction that no Black person should be treated as inferior because of their skin colour, adding that Nigeria supported the campaign without expecting any personal or national reward in return.

The former president spoke in an interview on C-Suite Cafe, hosted by Ikem Okuhu.

“We were not doing what we did in South Africa or in Southern Africa or decolonisation anywhere for our personal gain or for our country. We did it for our race. I believe that no Black man anywhere or Black person anywhere should be regarded as an inferior human being because of his colour,” he said.

“That was the principle; we stuck with it and fought for it

Obasanjo, who served as Nigeria’s military head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as civilian president from 1999 to 2007, described Nigeria’s contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle as “enlightened self-interest”.

“And for me—and I believe for Nigeria at that time and even now—we should be proud of what we did because without Nigeria, South Africa would not have got rid of apartheid when it got rid of it. That is true,” Obasanjo said.

He said Nigeria worked alongside several African and international leaders in opposing apartheid, including former US President Jimmy Carter, former British Prime Minister James Callaghan, former president of Tanzania Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, former Mozambique president Samora Machel, and Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme.

Obasanjo also criticised xenophobic attacks against African migrants in South Africa, saying the country’s leaders had not done enough to tackle the problem.

He said even where migrants had violated immigration laws or committed crimes, such offences should not be used to justify attacks on their homes and businesses.

“There are criminals among the illegal migrants, but I do not believe that you use illegality to treat illegality, asking and encouraging area boys and area girls to break into their houses and break into their shops,” he said.

“I believe that it’s not in the best interest of South Africa or Africa in what has happened. What is the percentage of these immigrants? Also, some of them are job creators. Three, how much of your jobs are they taking over, and if you get these people out, what will be the total outcome for South Africa?

“I was trying to find out, but people told me the ANC [Ruling party in South Africa] is having a political problem of meeting the expectations of the ordinary people. That many be true, and if that is happening, that is not the right way to go about it.

“It’s not only in South Africa but everywhere. The expectations of ordinary people are not being met in Nigeria, Kenya and almost all countries in Africa. I believe if we are talking of integration, coming up together, I believe using illegality to treat illegality is not the way out.”