Mandela and Nigeria

During the apartheid days in South Africa, Nigerians were at the forefront of the fierce fight against this evil system. Many of us were in fact ready to die for the black majority who were the real victims of apartheid. Apartheid, once strongly supported by the Western world out of economic interests, is today no more.

The new South Africa and Nigeria, the two strongest African nations, became so close, so sisterly, so brotherly, this proximity produced new hope for a better Africa.

After some time, the South African President found himself at loggerheads with all Nigerians for two reasons. First, the issue of writer Ken Sarowiwa and other Ogoni leaders who were hanged by Nigerian authorities for murder in 1995. This happened despite Mandela's appeal for clemency.

Nigerian leaders do not see Mandela as anything other than a friend but he was heavily flattered by overseas Nigerian opposition groups as "the only moral voice on the continent" who could sway the Nigerian authorities. At the time, President Mandela unfortunately had so little knowledge of these Nigerian opposition groups.

A bunch of frustrated academics are one opposition group. They are from one ethnic group who blindly believe in paper qualifications like a religion. They even believe only western academic degrees should be the main leadership criterion in Nigeria. Therefore they should be the leaders, not anyone else.

Luckily Mandela realized this eventually and so disassociated himself from them. Now, they have a new strategy through which they want to use Mandela again for their political ends.

For example, The Jakarta Post of Aug. 1 reported a similar misunderstanding between Mandela and Nigerian officials. In the article, a Nigerian Minister was alleged to have said "... a white country with a black head (of state)."

This statement was unproven and instead, the controversy was blamed on the same Nigerian opposition politicians overseas who intentionally misconstrued the Nigerian minister's original statements.

Walter Ofonagoro, the Nigerian Information Minister said "opposition politicians ... were determined to prevent the creation of good relations between South Africa and Nigeria."

I am afraid some powerful foreign countries may not be good friends of Nigeria, so they use opposition groups to achieve their selfish ends. Incredibly, these opposition Nigerians are supplied with lethal explosives which from time to time they detonate in their own country. The result is that many innocent lives are lost.

The second reason Mandela and the Nigerians were at loggerheads was because he was calling for very destructive international sanctions against Nigeria for alleged human rights violations. His call was warmly welcomed by the West.

I personally respect Mr. Mandela as a true African nationalist, an elder statesman and an internationally accepted freedom fighter. I cannot help but quote the last paragraph of the back page of the Aug. 1 Post that "Mandela subsequently spearheaded calls for economic sanctions, including an oil embargo against Nigeria but backtracked after he found no international support and was slapped down by the Organization of African Unity."

BUHARI ABDU

Jakarta