All the negative energy unleashed against Miss Chidinma Adetshina’s participation in the 2024 Miss South Africa beauty pageant would not have happened if the South African political elite had socialised their people to appreciate the sacrifice that other African countries made for them when they were under the bondage of apartheid. Those of us who were part of it all are scandalised that the same people for whom Nigeria became a frontline state are now the ones tagging Nigerians and other former benefactors as “those Africans”.

When a “coloured” or black South African calls a Nigerian or Mozambican “those Africans”, it shows that his elders and leaders failed in their duty to educate the younger generation about the various shoulders they stood on to catch a glimpse of the promised land before they were eventually empowered by the same coalition of brothers and sisters all over the world to fight their way to freedom.

Where Are Old Comrades?

Where are all those South African students who schooled in Nigerian universities free of charge in the 70s and 80s? If they are all too timid to speak out, why is a credible voice like that of Thabo Mbeki silent? Has he forgotten how student leaders besieged his office in Obalende, Lagos, for briefing and collection of anti-apartheid literature for distribution round major cities and all higher institutions of learning? Mbeki and his colleagues enjoyed diplomatic cover and were extended all the privileges of that status. A few of them were issued Nigerian passports because they were at the time considered stateless. Between 1960 and 1995, Nigeria spent over $61 billion on the South African liberation struggle. How can our respected comrade, Mbeki, watch as Nigerians, particularly, are demonised as “those Africans”?

To be sure, there are Nigerians who behave badly, just as there are South Africans of all races who are veritable outlaws. Every mother does have them. I never thought that I would live to see the day when my countrymen would be characterised as criminals or second-class citizens just because they have gone to seek economic opportunities in South Africa. No one is advocating that Nigerians should be treated any different from other foreigners, but it beggars belief that Nigerians could be treated worse.

Thank God for liberated minds like Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, who boldly speaks out against the evil of Afrophobia wherever it rears its head.

Malema

Malema was not born when we were pounding the streets as university student leaders and activists. How come he is better informed and more steadfast than his seniors about South Africa’s moral obligations to its erstwhile benefactors? The old guard of the African National Congress (ANC) has failed in inculcating the spirit of African brotherhood in its followers — the same spirit that rescued them from bondage.

In the heat of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, Malema’s intervention showed the clarity of his mind and his mastery of the issues involved. He debunked claims that foreigners were taking South Africans’ jobs.

“Stop your self-hatred. Stop attacking our brothers and sisters from Africa. We are one… Even if we expel them tomorrow, you will still not get a job. There are no jobs in South Africa because the whites have refused to invest money in South Africa. They’ve got too many savings in the bank. They’ve got trillions in the bank. They’ve refused to take them out and build industries.”

Continuing, he said, “I’m ashamed today to call myself a South African. You are beating blacks, slaughtering Africans… I’ve never seen you doing that to a Chinese, Indian or a white person who doesn’t have papers. But because white people taught you to hate yourselves, once they say it’s an African, you kill all the Africans. Stop that nonsense!”

It is because of the Malemas of this world that Nigerians find South Africa habitable. Because of the force of numbers, those who choose to be xenophobic would feel that Nigerians are choking them because they run into them whichever way they turn. They forget that Nigerians are about a fifth of the population of black people in the world. At times, because of their self-assuredness, they may appear domineering, but in most cases, you find that they are really citizens of the world. If you encourage a Nigerian, he/she could become more native than the native — and even add more value!

Chidinma’s Dual Nationality

Chidimma Adetshina was born in Soweto at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in 2001. Her father is of Igbo (Nigerian) descent, while her mother is reported to be a Mozambican who is now a naturalise.

South African. So much hot air was unleashed about Chidinma’s nationality in the Miss South Africa beauty contest, forcing her to withdraw her participation.

Even if Ms Adetshina had eventually won the competition and gone on to represent South Africa, she wouldn’t have been doing anything spectacularly unprecedented or strange. Her compatriots routinely bring glory to other countries in various parts of the world, as witnessed in the recent Olympics. Let’s check out the facts:

1. Germany won Gold in Shot Put through 25-year-old Yemisi Ogunleye
2. Spain bagged Gold in Men’s Football with 20-year-old Samuel Omorodion in the team
3. France won Silver in Men’s Football with Michael Olise, 22, in the team.
4. USA got Silver in Women’s Hammer throw through Anette Echikunwoke, 28 years old.
5. France won Gold in Men’s Volleyball with Barthélémy Chinenyeze, 26 years, in the team
6. Bahrain won Silver in Women’s 400 Meters athletics through 26-year-old Salwa Eid Naser whose original name was Ebele Agbapuonwu,
7. USA – Gold in Men’s Basketball: Femi “Bam” Adebayo (27 years old)

It is not strange to find Nigerians who, for one reason or another, change their names and adopt the identity of their adopted country, as the family of Giannis Antetokounmpo (Adetokunbo) has done in Greece.

Win-Win Situation

In that light, for example, one must understand the case of Bahrain’s 400-metre athlete, Eid Naser, who was born in Onitsha, Anambra State of Nigeria. Her original name was Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu. She picked up athletics early in Nigeria and performed at the 2013 School Sports in Port Harcourt and the National Youth Games in Ilorin. Two years later, at 15, she left Nigeria for Bahrain, converted to Islam, and changed her name. That was how Bahrain was able to claim an Olympic Silver Medal through her.

She is a former world champion, running 48.14s —the fastest time in 34 years— to claim the world title in 2019. In 2015, she won gold at both the Military World Games and the World Youth Championships for Bahrain. She also became the youngest woman to claim a silver representing Bahrain as a 19-year-old at the 2017 IAAF World Championships. Now, with an Olympic Silver for Bahrain, she is paying back her adopted country with laurels. What a win-win situation!

Since she has dual South African and Nigerian citizenship, Chidinma Adetshina has now been invited to participate in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant to represent Taraba State. When one road closes, another opens.

In the universe of parables, what fib will the Afrophobic builders in South Africa tell the rejected stone if it becomes the cornerstone?