By Abioye Tosin Lawrence There was a time when South Africa stood as a symbol of triumph over oppression. A nation reborn from the ashes of apartheid, guided by the moral weight of reconciliation and unity, as envisioned by Nelson Mandela. The “Rainbow Nation” was not just a phrase, it was a promise. Today, that promise is being tested. Across different periods of social unrest, reports of violence and hostility against African migrants have raised urgent questions about the state of African brotherhood within South Africa. Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Malawians, Congolese, and others have, at various times, found themselves caught in waves of destruction that target foreign-owned shops and communities. This raises a difficult but necessary question: where is the protection of law when African brothers become targets in a nation built on liberation ideals? Nigeria, for instance, has often demonstrated strong institutional responses to crime affecting foreign nationa...
“Convoys, Crackdowns, and a Country in Chains: CBN Onwuasoanya Ezendigbo Slams Nigeria’s ‘Democracy of Fear’”
Onwuasoanya Ezendigbo, a presidential candidate, delivered a scathing indictment of Nigeria’s political climate in a statement on Sunday, accusing the ruling class of weaponizing state power to suffocate opposition and entrench what he described as a creeping dictatorship. According to Ezendigbo, the essence of democracy is being steadily eroded as those in power deploy “mighty institutional force” not to build the nation, but to silence dissent. He alleged that opposition voices are increasingly intimidated, harassed, and denied the basic democratic right to express alternative views. In a sharply worded critique, he condemned the use of political thuggery, claiming that violence sponsored or tolerated by the elite has contributed to the normalization of insecurity across the country. “You went with thugs and unleashed them on the poor,” he stated, linking such actions to the broader rise of banditry and lawlessness in different parts of Nigeria. Ezendigbo argued that governance has b...