Fiery South African opposition leader and President of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Hon. Julius Malema, has strongly condemned xenophobia in South Africa, calling it a betrayal of African unity. He urged deeper economic collaboration between Nigeria and South Africa, stressing that the continent’s prosperity depends on the unity and industrialisation of its two largest economies.
Speaking in Enugu as keynote speaker at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), themed “Stand Out, Stand Tall”, Malema insisted that Africa must not allow itself to be divided by xenophobia, declaring, “Africa is one.”
He also cautioned African nations against heavy reliance on loans from the World Bank, IMF, and other global financial institutions, describing them as “debt traps” that endanger the continent’s future. Instead, he reiterated the EFF’s vision of a borderless Africa with a single currency, parliament, and military command, urging Africans to reclaim their land, resources, and destiny from imperialist control.
Malema praised Nigeria’s historic role in South Africa’s liberation struggle, recalling how Nigerians supported the fight against apartheid by paying the Mandela tax, boycotting international events, and providing solidarity at critical moments. He reminded the audience that Nelson Mandela visited Lagos and Abuja shortly after his release in 1990 to personally thank Nigerians for their sacrifices.
He emphasised that this bond must now translate into stronger economic ties, pointing out that despite their vast resources, both nations remain stuck in colonial economic structures that export raw materials cheaply only to buy back finished goods at high prices. He called for joint industrialisation, envisioning Nigeria’s oil wealth and agriculture combined with South Africa’s mining expertise and technology to build African-owned conglomerates.
Highlighting existing ties, Malema noted the success of South African companies such as MTN, Shoprite, and Multichoice in Nigeria, alongside the strong influence of Nigerian music, film, and literature in South Africa. However, he lamented that xenophobia often overshadows these gains, describing it as “a sickness born of poverty, inequality, and government failure.”
He urged visa-free travel, harmonised trade policies, and continental infrastructure that would integrate African economies, while placing Nigeria–South Africa cooperation within the broader Pan-African struggle for justice and solidarity with oppressed peoples worldwide, including those in Palestine, Western Sahara, Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Malema also criticised what he termed the hypocrisy of international justice, which acts swiftly against leaders from the Global South but ignores crimes by Western powers and their allies. He insisted that Africa must build its own courts and tribunals to ensure justice for its people.
Closing his speech, Malema reaffirmed his vision of an Africa united by one parliament, one currency, and one military command, declaring:
“We are not a dark continent. How can we be dark when we have diamonds that shine among us? Together, Nigeria and South Africa can lead Africa into a future where we are not beggars but giants, not divided tribes but one people. Our salvation will not come from Washington or Brussels—it lies here, in Lagos and Johannesburg, in Abuja and Pretoria, in the hands of Africans who refuse to be divided.”
