by
Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO, BLUEHEDGE REALTORS
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.
— Barack Obama: A letter to my daughters
We welcome you to the beautiful month of March.
This month’s article is centred on the recent ‘Xenophobia’ in South Africa. The word ‘xenophobia’ is in quote because some authorities have claimed that what is happening in South Africa is not xenophobia, but should be called another name. Xenophobia is defined as ‘dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.’
It is pertinent to note at this juncture that this article is not intended to cast aspersions or to justify the doings or undoings of any tribe, culture, people or country; the objective will be obvious at the end of the article.
It is no longer news that one of the most trending words today has to do with the recent happenings in South Africa. You’ll see headlines like:
– Xenophobic attacks in South Africa (This Day Newspaper)
– Nigerians resort to self-defence against xenophobic attacks in South Africa (The Vanguard Newspaper)
– Xenophobic attacks re-appear in South Africa (Voice of Africa News)
– In South Africa, violence follows a surge in xenophobia (The Washington Post)
– South Africa: Xenophobic attacks prompt angry backlash in Nigeria (News Week)
– Xenophobia: Nigeria asks South Africa to protect foreigners (Channels TV)
– Xenophobic attacks continue in South Africa (The Guardian Newspaper)
– South Africa appeals for calm after a wave of xenophobic attacks (African News)
– Nigeria ‘summons’ South African envoy over xenophobic attacks (African News)
The embattled South Africans have claimed that the attack in South Africa is a fight against drug peddling, prostitution, and foreigners taking their jobs.
It was also learnt that the violence was further exacerbated by the pronouncement of the Zulu king, Goodwill Zwelithini when he said, “We are requesting those who come from outside to please go back to their countries. The fact that there were countries that played a role in the country’s struggle for liberation should not be used as an excuse to create a situation where foreigners are allowed to inconvenience locals.”
It is on record that in 2008, xenophobic violence left at least 67 people dead in South Africa, and another outbreak of violence in 2015 at Durban and Johannesburg left at least seven (7) people dead and prompted thousands to flee.
One commentator pointed out that what is happening in South Africa is not Xenophobia, but afrophobia meaning that it is violence against fellow Africans from other countries, as citizens of countries such as Europe and Americans are not attacked.
What does this tell us? Africans attacking and killing fellow Africans. Does being black mean that our feelings for each other should be evil and wicked? What is really the root cause of this problem, and how can it be addressed?
Charity, they say, begins at home. The modern definition of ‘charity’ as the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act (Wikipedia) is very confusing. The original and simple meaning of ‘Charity’ is ‘Love’. Hence, we can interchange ‘charity’ for ‘love’ and say ‘Love begins at home’. But, in reality, can we claim this to be true? The corollary seems to be the case – Envy, hatred and rivalry begins at home. How do we Nigerians living in Nigeria treat ourselves? Do people of the same tribe, language and religion see each other as brothers and sisters, not to talk of their relationship with other people that doesn’t share these attributes with them.
We should never expect to be treated better than we treat ourselves, because charity begins at home. Do we really value and respect ourselves as citizens of one nation?
Every white person has what we call ‘superiority complex’; they believe they are better, more clever, and more important than other people. Please note the word ‘believe’. It is in their belief system – ‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he’. If the white people believe that they are more superior to us, and we ourselves believe that we are inferior to them, then there is a problem. It is this same negative mindset that made the Israelites to perish in the wilderness: “we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Numbers 13:33)”.
The foregoing therefore shows that it is highly imperative to change our perception and belief system. A man can never rise beyond the limit of his thinking. The journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step; we need to, as a people, begin to rewrite our history. Today, to say you are a Nigerian brings bad memories, and you may be considered a suspect; this is already a dent in the image of every Nigerian everywhere in the globe. We are judged by every bad things in the country, without the mention of the good things the country stands for. No wonder they say, ‘bad news are remembered quickly and they spread faster than good news’.
In the midst of this seemingly hopeless case, what is the way forward?
There’s no point beating about the bush. It is very expedient for us as people to come together and be united. We need to create and imbibe new value system, we must shed away everything that makes us feel and behave as if we are inferior and take up a new nature – ‘superiority mentality’. This should reflect in the way we talk, walk, act and relate with other people. We also need to respect and value each other as citizens of one great country, irrespective of differences in tribe, language and religion.
We need to respect the sanctity of human life. We must realize that life is far more important than things. The love for each other must be genuine and supreme. We must tolerate each other and live together as one people; we must be each other’s keeper. Love is contagious and can be transmitted from generation to generation, just as the opposite is true. The young generations of today that are witnessing all the violence will ask questions, and the responses to those questions will sink into their sub-consciousness, and there will likely be a chain reaction. What do we want to transmit to the generations yet unborn? What do we want to be remembered for? The generations yet unborn will either bless us for making the world a better place, or curse us for making it worse than we met it. The choice is ours.
As usual, we want to remind you that we care so much about you, and that when it comes to your real estate investment, we are always here to give you the very best service you can never get elsewhere. That is our promise, and will always be.
We wish you the very best in the month of March 2017.
Thank you.
