Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that apartheid in South Africa would not have collapsed when it did without Nigeria's decisive involvement in the struggle against white minority rule. He made the statement during an interview on C-Suite Cafe, hosted by Ikem Okuhu, according to Leadership and Vanguard reports.
Obasanjo explains Nigeria's motivation
Obasanjo, who served as Nigeria's military head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as civilian president from 1999 to 2007, said Nigeria's push to end apartheid was rooted in the conviction that no Black person should be treated as less than human because of their skin colour. He stressed that the country acted out of racial solidarity rather than self-interest.
"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," Obasanjo said.
He described Nigeria's role as "enlightened self-interest," adding that the country never expected anything in return for its support. "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.
Key allies in the anti-apartheid campaign
Obasanjo said Nigeria collaborated with a number of African and international figures during the campaign, including Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Samora Machel of Mozambique, former US President Jimmy Carter, former British Prime Minister James Callaghan, and Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme.
South Africa held its first democratic, non-racial elections in 1994, marking the formal end of apartheid.
Obasanjo criticises xenophobic violence in South Africa
The former president also criticised ongoing xenophobic violence against African migrants in South Africa, saying the country's leaders had not done enough to tackle the crisis. While acknowledging that some migrants may be undocumented or have broken the law, he argued that such situations could not justify mob action against people's homes and businesses.
"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," Obasanjo said.
He also pushed back on claims that migrants were taking jobs from South Africans, saying many of them create employment rather than displace local workers.
Recent tensions between Nigeria and South Africa
His remarks came days after Nigeria's National Assembly suspended all legislative engagements with South Africa over persistent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians. About 100 Nigerians have reportedly been killed in mob and hate-related violence in South Africa since 2022.
Previously, Legit.ng reported that the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum urged former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, former military Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar, former president Goodluck Jonathan and former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku to publicly address the ongoing US court proceedings involving records related to President Bola Tinubu.
