September 4, 2019

Daily Trust reports that three police men, suspects die in motor accident. According to Daily Trust, "Three police officers said to be working under DCP Abba Kyari and some arrested suspects have died in a ghastly motor accident few kilometers from where three police men were killed by soldiers along Ibbi-Wukari road in Ibbi local government area of Taraba State at about 6 pm, on Monday." It was the same IRT unit headed by DCP Abba Kyari, which lost 3 policemen to soldiers' bullets last month. Daily Trust’s finding revealed that "the police officers were escorting the suspects to the Area Command in Wukari when the driver of the police vehicle they were traveling lost control and somersaulted". An eye witness, Mallam Kasimu Dauda, told Daily Trust via Telephone that the accident occurred at a village few kilometers from where the 3 police men and 2 civilians were killed by soldiers last Month. He said the victims were part of DCP Abba Kyari’s team that came to Ibbi, following the killing of 3 Police men and 2 civilians and were left behind to conduct further investigation in the area. Mallam Kasimu Dauda said the victims were escorting the suspects and some guns recovered in the area when the accident happened. The police spokesperson in the state, DSP David Misal, who  confirmed the incident via a text message to Daily Trust reporter, however said only one police man died in the accident. He wrote: “A vehicle with some police detectives, on special investigation, along Ibbi-Wukari road had a fatal accident as a result of bad tyres  and it led to the death of a police officer while others sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment”.

The South African government has been a disappointment to Africa, just as Nigeria. But let's talk about South Africa. In the 70s and 80s, Nigeria led the world in the fight to end the white supremacist regime in South Africa, known as the Apartheid. Then Nigeria still had the muscle to flex in the continent, not now that Nigeria has become a mockery. It was natural, therefore, that upon the end of Apartheid, Africans would be hopeful that South Africa, led by former freedom fighters, would be a blessing to the continent. But unfortunately, the reality has been the opposite. The post-Apartheid South Africa has been a terrible let-down. It has been like an elephant giving birth to a mouse. Nowhere else has this been more demonstrated than in the xenophobia that has gripped the South African society for a number of years now. That the South African civilian population, particularly the blacks, would be attacking and killing black African immigrants in their country must be blamed on the Government of South Africa. The black leaders of South Africa have failed the basic test of leadership, which is a terrible irony. If the South African leaders were not like drunken idiots, they would have known the long term implications of these xenophobic attacks. For one, South Africa will not be able to attract sufficient black immigrants it would need to soften white domination of their economy and their professional class. Second, it will trigger return hatred of South Africans in other African countries, thus denying the South African economy the opportunity to expand into markets within the continent. The evils of xenophobic violence in South Africa was mildly revealed yesterday when Nigerians retaliated by attacking and looting South African businesses in Nigeria, often their biggest markets in the world. That hopefully will send a message to South Africa. No group will fold their arms and watch their kit and kin slaughtered senselessly with impunity. And as the South African police are too nice to those killing Nigerians, let Nigerian police borrow that  gentle disposition when dealing with Nigerians attacking South African businesses. Despite all this, the situation is not out of control yet. The two governments should double their efforts. The emphasis should not be on how to avenge the Nigerians killed. Rather, it should be on how to protect thousands of Nigerians still in South Africa, who need to remain in that country. Also, since not every African country has the clout as Nigeria, it will be proper for Nigeria's effort to aim to end xenophobia against all Africans in South Africa. There must be an end to these spates of violence. The process will not be complete unless there is justice for the victims of the past and present attacks and punishment for people known to be involved in the attacks. For those, whose shops were looted or who lost their relatives in these attacks, there should be adequate compensation to be paid by South African government. Both governments must understand that both the xenophobic violence in South Africa and retaliatory violence reported in Nigeria are as a result of government failure to act preemptively. (The picture below came from Punch Newspapers showing one of Shoprite Stores looted in Nigeria in relation to xenophobic violence in South Africa).