Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has condemned the recurring xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals in South Africa, recalling Nigeria’s significant contributions to the country’s struggle against apartheid.
Tuggar said Nigeria made enormous political, economic and diplomatic sacrifices to support the liberation of South Africa from racial oppression, making the continued hostility towards fellow Africans particularly disturbing.
He spoke on Thursday in Lagos at the Bridge Club’s end-of-year event, which focused on xenophobia and Pan-Africanism.
The former minister recalled Nigeria’s support for victims of the 1976 Soweto massacre through scholarship programmes, assistance to liberation movements in Namibia and Angola, and its hosting of the World Conference Against Apartheid.
He said Nigeria maintained its commitment to the anti-apartheid struggle despite facing economic challenges, with successive administrations and ordinary citizens contributing to the campaign against racial discrimination.
Tuggar argued that understanding the recurring tensions in South Africa required examining the lasting consequences of colonialism and apartheid on African societies.
He, however, cautioned that historical injustices should not be used to rationalise discrimination, intolerance or violence against other Africans.
According to him, strengthening Pan-Africanism requires practical economic measures, including industrialisation, regional market integration and increased trade among African countries.
He described the African Continental Free Trade Area as a critical framework for translating the ideals of continental unity into tangible economic benefits.
Tuggar also stressed the importance of free movement of labour, arguing that the success of an integrated African market would depend partly on the ability of people to move across borders to pursue legitimate economic opportunities.
He called for closer examination of the financing and organisational structures behind anti-migrant groups, particularly March and March and Operation Dudula, questioning whether external interests and coordinated social media campaigns were contributing to anti-foreigner sentiments.
The former minister warned that xenophobic tensions and external narratives should not be allowed to undermine diplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Africa, stressing that cooperation between the two countries was crucial to Africa’s development.
He further advocated stronger engagement with think tanks and intellectual platforms to ensure that the institutional knowledge and policy experience of former public office holders were not lost.
The event featured a keynote address by renowned Kenyan lawyer and Pan-Africanist, P.L.O. Lumumba.
The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, was also recognised for her efforts in protecting the interests and welfare of Nigerians living abroad.
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