This man, Julius Malema was heard defending foreigners whom those xenophobic South Africans were attacking, and I commend him for that. I also commend him for his Pan-African passion and for being among the few people who still believe that Africa needs unity.
However, I beg to differ with his assertion that Ghana acted too swiftly and should have waited for the South African government to resolve the situation. Does he mean we should have waited until our citizens were killed, maimed, or subjected to more brutal and inhumane treatment before the Government of Ghana intervened to rescue its people?
Did he not see how fellow black Africans were attacking other Africans as though they were animals? I have always maintained that we must follow due process in dealing with issues of illegal migration, whether in Africa or anywhere else in the world. International laws and diplomatic procedures exist to handle this growing phenomenon, which has become chronic due to political and socioeconomic hardships. But once citizens begin taking the law into their own hands by attacking foreign nationals because they believe they are responsible for crime or unemployment, then society is no longer respecting the very laws designed to protect everyone.
We must admit that under normal circumstances, nobody willingly leaves their homeland to struggle in another country. We understand the frustration of South Africans who say foreigners should return home and help fix their own countries. Yes, ideally, that is what should happen. But before demanding this of foreigners, are African governments themselves listening to the cries of their own citizens?
Across Africa, we repeatedly elect leaders to solve our problems, only for many of them to create even greater suffering through corruption, greed, and incompetence. It is only in Africa that a political thief can return to the same people every four years asking for another mandate after mismanaging public resources, engaging in corruption scandals, and failing to deliver promises—yet the same citizens vote massively for such individuals. Afterwards, the same people complain about poor leadership and economic hardship. Take Ghana, for example. Who would have thought that after decades of broken promises, citizens would still keep recycling the same two political parties every four or eight years?
If every government since 1992 had focused on building even one or two sustainable factories in each region, by now the country would have created enough jobs to significantly reduce unemployment. Instead, every new government introduces temporary policies mainly designed to win elections or maintain political power. Once another government takes over, those policies are abandoned and replaced with new slogans and programmes. How then can we solve unemployment when we refuse to think beyond political survival and instead focus only on short-term propaganda?
What is even more ironic is that at a time when Ghana is opening its doors to fellow Africans through visa-free policies, Ghanaian citizens are simultaneously being subjected to barbaric xenophobic attacks in some of those same African countries.
The citizens of South Africa must also be reminded that their nationals own businesses and live peacefully in Ghana and many other African countries. If attacks against foreigners continue, innocent South Africans living abroad may also become targets of retaliation. That is not a path Africa should ever encourage. Violence only breeds more violence.
Diplomacy, respect for international law, and proper immigration systems remain the only lasting solutions to the growing issue of illegal migration in Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia. African governments must work together to create better opportunities for their citizens by reducing corruption, promoting transparency and accountability, investing in quality education, building factories and industries, and ensuring good leadership.
With sound educational policies, industrialisation, accountability, and visionary leadership, every African country can stand firmly on its own feet and provide meaningful opportunities for its citizens. When people have hope, jobs, security, and dignity in their own countries, they will not feel compelled to risk their lives searching for greener pastures elsewhere.
Africa must stop fighting itself. The real enemies of the continent are corruption, poor leadership, unemployment, greed, and failed governance—not fellow Africans struggling to survive.
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