Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former president, said apartheid would not have ended in South Africa when it did without Nigeria’s sustained support for the struggle against white minority rule.
Obasanjo, who spoke during an interview on C-Suite Cafe hosted by Ikem Okuhu, said Nigeria’s opposition to apartheid was driven by the principle that no black person should be treated as inferior because of their skin colour.
‘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,’ Obasanjo said.
‘I believe that no black man anywhere or black person anywhere should be regarded as an inferior human being because of his colour.’
South Africa held its first democratic, non-racial elections in 1994, bringing an end to the apartheid system and paving the way for Nelson Mandela to become the country’s first Black president.
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 role in the anti-apartheid struggle as an example of ‘enlightened self-interest’.
He said Nigeria supported the campaign without expecting a direct benefit in return, adding that the country should be proud of its contribution to the eventual dismantling of apartheid.
‘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,’ he said.
According to Obasanjo, Nigeria’s campaign against apartheid involved cooperation with several African and international leaders, including Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere, Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda and Mozambique’s Samora Machel.
He also cited former United States President Jimmy Carter, former British Prime Minister James Callaghan and former Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme among leaders who worked with Nigeria and other countries in opposing apartheid and supporting decolonisation efforts.
The former president’s comments come amid renewed concerns over the treatment of African migrants in South Africa, particularly Nigerians, following years of xenophobic attacks.
Obasanjo criticised South African authorities for what he described as inadequate action against attacks on migrants, saying criminality or irregular migration could not justify violence against foreigners.
‘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.
He also rejected claims that migrants were simply taking jobs from South Africans, arguing that some foreign nationals contribute to the economy by establishing businesses and creating employment.
The National Assembly last week suspended all legislative engagements with South Africa over what it described as persistent xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in the country.
About 100 Nigerians have reportedly been killed in mob and hate-related attacks in South Africa since 2022, adding to long-running tensions between the two countries over the treatment of Nigerians and other African migrants.