Xenophobia and Africa’s entrepreneurial spirit
I arrived South Africa on the 16th of July 2002; it was winter, the thick of it. I was brutally shocked by the intensity of the cold. But I came with a warm spirit. I was focused.
It was up to me to add into the tool box; determination, resilience, creativity and emotional intelligence for me to navigate the reality of the South African socioeconomic terrain. Some of my shops are entirely in the hands of South Africans; my security outfit is managed by South Africans who decide what happen in the company’s operations. I am currently mentoring a young South African; using the same principle from my mentorship programme in Nigeria. I have spiced it with some degree of formality and, at 22 years of age, he runs his own IT firm from under my space.
As a foreigner living in South Africa and a Nigerian in particular, I won’t keep quiet over this recent Afro-phobic attacks going on in parts of South Africa. I have the moral ground to speak because I have added value to South Africa: I boldly state that I have never indulged in any form of criminal activity to make money. Besides, I am married to a South African and her family has become mine.
But intellectual laziness and populist stance have underscored the narrative which demonizes foreigners and, Nigerians in particular. Perhaps, we need to remember not to forget that Nigeria and South Africa account for almost one-third of the Africa’s Gross Domestic Product and, if businesses developed by entrepreneurs like me, and against the background of the challenges to grow small businesses; it would directly compromise the targets of the current clamor for intra-African trade.
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