South Africa: Matters Arising
By
Abubakar Jika
This is the third in my South African series.
These
series catalogue my experiences here in the Port city
of Durban. The second of the series: SOUTH AFRICA: ONE COUNTRY, THREE NATIONS attracted more
rejoinders. These responses further exposed our country's yawning
geo-political divides. The responses can be broken into two broad categories. Those who hailed the
articles, mainly non-Igbo Nigerians and those who
stridently condemned them comprising solely Igbos.
The Igbos who condemned my write ups, presented three
broad reasons, none of which attempt to impeach my arguments on the basis of superior
arguments or
evidences. First, they deny my claim of being
Igbo-friendly. They cannot understand how I can lay
claims to being a friend of the Igbo and openly
disagree with their conducts by singling them out for
crucifixion. My response to this is, in my part of
Nigeria, we are so politically tolerant, that you can
condemn your friend on principle and remain his
friend. Nothing personal on this.
Let me not go far in citing my proofs. I am known as a
Writer who disagree with the policies of the Obasanjo
regime. But the number two man: Atiku Abubakar is from
my place. After a year of criticisms of this regime, and
the north decided to honour Atiku tagged RECEPTION
2000,I participated whole-heartedly and served as its
Publicity Secretary. There was no politics. My Deputy
Chairman was Senator Kumo, APP and the Governors of the
19 northern states, including AD Chairman participated
at Kaduna Reception 2000.Speaker Ghali Naabba who was
having a running battle with the Obasanjo government
was a prominent participant. That is the North for
you. After that I still write repeatedly to disagree
with them on their policies. Nothing personal.
Let me give another example. Again closer home. I have
consistently supported the House of Representatives
against the Executive led by Obasanjo in the media as
bulwark against emergent civilian imperial
Presidency. When the House in the view of many
Nigerians collaborated with the Executive to foster a
one party state on us through the botched Electoral
Act 2001,I stridently condemned them. The Speaker was
and still remain my friend. It did not stop me from
writing: GHALI ON THE CROSS. The article could have
baffled any Igbo to know he is my friend and remains
my friend. Friendship does not amount to blind loyalty
to an individual or group. Much as I write against the
Obasanjo regime Atiku remain my Senior
brother. Southerners, particularly Igbos from their
responses to my articles may not understand these.
The second area was their view that I do not condemn
northern leaders. But I had consistently done that WHEN
THEY WERE IN POWER: Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, and even
Abdulsalami. But my position is: why keep chasing them
when there is another guy on seat? Why yesterday when
even today needs sorting?
Lastly, most of them threaten me. I had a good laugh. No threats bother me. They never did. I have been in this
business of writing for close to 20 years through
various regimes and different causes. Again coming
closer home, for the past three years I have
consistently taken on the lapses of the Obasanjo
regime as I did previous military regimes in the
media. And I was living in Nigeria and would return to
Nigeria and continue to write. Threats were a waste of
time as far as I am concerned. With these I would not
respond on these issues again.
Let me share with you DAILY NEWS, front page Report of
Wednesday May 22,2002,late edition here in Durban and
I quote: "Durban-based Nigerian cartels are generating
billions of rands in the drug trade across the country
and have seized control of areas of Durban point.
Police say the drug barons have taken over entire
buildings on the point for drug dealing and accommodation for their staffs and parts of the city
centre are also being targeted for take
over. Operation West police comprising Durban Metro
Police and South African Police service detectives who
are cracking on West African crime syndicates ,have
identified a number of drug lords who own luxury homes
in upper market suburbs.
The detectives are tracking West African crime
organizations that generate Rand 1.4 billion a year
through drug dealing in the point area alone. Police
estimate Nigerian criminals to control more than 80
per cent of the city's drug trade. Operation West
Project Manager Supt Willie louw said the city was
being fast taken over by a Nigerian Brotherhood.
Each member of the Brother controls a point of the
city and is responsible for organizing the drug trade
in his area. The brotherhood used staff to take over
buildings. The money earned from the buildings are then
used by drug lords to fund front companies which
target business men and con them out of millions". Let
us reflect on these. Any Nigerian here is seen as a
drug dealer or fraud or a criminal.
from the responses I got from Botswana, from Germany
,from the U.S. and Poland the story is the same. Is that
how we want to remain? Could this amount to "genocide"
or "ethnic cleansing "as some of my Igbo readers
brand? Nobody is saying only Igbos are criminals or
criminality has ethnic affiliation or there are no
honest Igbos. There are millions of them all over the
world. There is even one right now living in my own
personal house, free. But the fact that he is honest
cannot stop me from condemning the actions of Dave an
Igbo who runs a makeshift telephone centre in my neighborhood here. He was the first to defraud me
here. The day I entered town I wanted to call Nigeria. I
thought I came to a fellow Nigerian. He was
friendly, had a do gooder appearance.
He told me the phone had a meter and was cheaper than
telephone booth. I called home and before even
preliminary greetings I saw his meter jumped to 49
Rands in less than a minute. I was shocked. I dropped
the line. Of course I paid him only to realise later
that a 50 rand card is more than 7 minutes. There are
more than 70 of them in my neighborhood here. I guess most of them are defrauding the
unwary. After that
whenever he sees me, we greet as "fellow Nigerians".
Our Professor and Director saw my PERSPECTIVES FROM
SOUTH AFRICA and invited Balarabe Maikaba and myself
for discussions. They are keen on public perception of
their country. He placed the article before us and took
on the issues one by one. He conceded that the
University of Natal started admitting blacks only in
1990 and at a great price then. He disclosed that
corruption is illegal in South Africa and that we
should report any one who ask for bribe even in town
to them.
On the performance of blacks since they took over from
the whites, though he is white he believes the blacks
are doing better. On the increasing crime situation in
South Africa, he pointed out that comparing the post
apartheid police to apartheid police performances are
incorrect. He believes that while apartheid era police
only protected the whites, a minute part of the
population, the police now has to protect every
one: white, black, coloured and Indians. This can be quite
stressful indeed.
He agree that their lives are rule virtually by
computers here and computer literacy is necessary. He
however disclose to us his terrible experience at the
Lagos Airport after we invited him to visit
Kano. Unless we address our infrustructural problems I
doubt if any one would take us serious.
That brings me to Maikaba's recipe. He advocated that
governments in Nigeria should stop all expenses and
concentrate on infrastructures. People need to be moved
from the urban areas for re-infrustracturing. He wanted
his Governor of native Kano state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
to visit South Africa if he has not come this way
before to see things for himself. That he can be his
Guide free of charge for tours of Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and Cape Town. It
may look funny, but it is not .Our leaders have traveled all
over the world, why can't they attempt to address more
fundamentally our developmental problems?
There are three significant post apartheid
developments in South Africa that cry for urgent
attention, which are threatening the new South
Africa. One is glaring unemployment. Every morning as I
pass to the University I see long queues of
blacks, coloreds and whites in front of offices waiting
to be interviewed for non existing jobs. Old white
couples, miserable with nostalgic far away looks along
with young blacks sitting, some standing for hours to
be let into offices that appear to hold promise of
jobs. Some casual workers earn as low as Rand 40 per
day which equals to four dollars. Nigerians thinking of
jobs here should save themselves unnecessary sufferings. No jobs here. Better stay in Nigeria
at least you do not risk an unexpected bullet from roving
hungry gangs.
Secondly, though apartheid is legally and formally
dead and the Group Areas Act abrogated, its symbols segregated quarters largely remain due to
economic disparities among the groups. Here in Durban, blacks live largely in Umlazi, Kwamashu and
Inanda. The coloureds largely live at Glenwood, Sydenham
and Berea. The Indians at Sydenham, Philips and
Chattsworth. You are not officially driven away, but you
are barricaded by economics.
Thirdly and this can be linked to the above
developments, there is growing ethnic tensions between
Blacks and Indians. The two groups hardly mix and the
Blacks it appears to me on the streets are not happy
with the Indians because they do not easily mix with. I interviewed Mr. Zipho Dlamini, Founder and
Chairman, Uvoko Lwabangon (Waking Up the Rigteous) on the
growing tension between Africans and Indians in
Durban. He described the Indians as "bad news". He claimed they are arrogant and do not mix with blacks
citing apartheid era ethnic classifications that
placed them above the Blacks. My attempts to get
Indians to react to these claims were unfruitful.
The POST WEEKEND of May 24-26th,2002 reported in its
front page an "Anti-Indian song Under Fire". It was
sang by Playwright, Director and Actor Mbongeni Ngema of
the Sarafina fame, titled Ama-Ndiya along with
Musician Hugh Masekela. Indian political leaders
believe it was meant to whip up anti-Indian
feelings. It led to a meeting between Indian political
leaders and Nelson Mandela at his Chattworth home here
in Durban. The lyrics run like this:
oh Brothers
Oh my fellow Brothers
We need strong and brave men
To face/confront Indians
This situation is very difficult
Indians do not want to change
Whites are far better than Indians
Even you people in power don't want to intervene
They bribe you with roti and paku (bottle neck)
Even Mandela has failed to convince them to change
They don't vote when we vote
But they are full in Parliament
Indians have conquered Durban
We are all poor because all things have been taken by
Indians
They
are oppressing us.
When I could not get any Indian to react on record, I
got a Xosa (Mandela and Mbeki are Xosa), Zimkhitha
Mguqulwa, a third year Social Science student. She exonerated the Indians, insisting that they are good
business men who offer cheaper prices and better value. She rather blame fellow blacks for their
misfortunes as they prefer White and Indian shops to
those of fellow blacks.
Learnard, a Chef in a down town Durban hotel, who is a
Zulu however sharply disagree. He claimed that after
the fall of apartheid, the rich, industrious whites
fearing backlash relocated to Australia, U.S., Germany and Britain leaving only the Indians and less
hardworking whites. Those left behind desperate to get
capital started all kinds of unethical business
practices. He single out the Indians as the more
fraudulent along with some Nigerians that came. He
believe unless the Indians change, there would be
trouble in future.
Indeed, already at the Durban University in
Westville, there are growing ethnic strives and
tensions between Indians and Blacks, a development our
Professor and Director confirmed to me and
Maikaba. These are some of the fundamental matters
arising from post apartheid South Africa.
ABUBAKAR JIKA writes from University of Natal, Durban, South Africa.