S. Africa begs Nigeria over attacks

  1. Posted on Tuesday 2 June 2009 - 15:18
    AfricaNews editor
    Source: This Day
    The Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, on Monday went on his knees on behalf of millions of his compatriots in South Africa for last year's xenophobic attacks on other Africans, including Nigerians, resident in the country. He described the act as "a totally shameless thing to do."
    desmond tutu
    "We showed that we are ungrateful. Forgive us", he said while addressing the first convocation ceremony of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola. He said South Africa owed Nigeria a lot of debt because it led the struggle against Apartheid as the Chair of the Committee on Apartheid of the United Nations.

    The clergy, who was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the ceremony, lamented the poverty, epidemic and war in different countries in the continent and asked: "Would you advise anyone to invest in Africa? A continent that has one President indicted by the ICC? A king in Swaziland who seems to know nothing about democracy? A continent where one country is just recovering from genocide? Look at what is happening in DRC, in Zimbabwe?"

    According to him, "South Africa is the epicentre of HIV/AIDs. Can you believe it, that 1, 000 people die of AIDs in South Africa every day? That is like three jumbo jets crashing every day. Can you imagine that? We can count the countries of which we should be genuinely proud in Africa."
    He told the graduands: "You have a huge responsibility to make Africa viable, with transparent, accountable government. Whenever I go to Dubai, to Qatar I get really jealous. They have been fantastic with their oil revenue, providing housing, education, medical care, for their people.

    "Why is it not possible for oil-rich African countries to do the same? Why is it not possible for Nigeria to do the same? We must have accountable leaders. We can't have leaders who hold unto power until you get a government of national unity because they refuse to accept defeat. Africa, Africa, wake up. We have wonderful people. Let this continent make God proud."

    He also offered what he called "A little encouragement", saying, those who criticize Africa have a very short memory. “Have you forgotten the holocaust? Have you forgotten the gulads in Russia? Communism, Nazism, Fascism did not come from Africa. They were European inventions. Your history gives us hope. A western country was the first to use weapons of mass destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those countries have been able to rise. Africa, there is hope," he assured.

Reactions

  1. Posted on Tuesday 02 June 2009 20:45
    Mr P Nyasa
    Image of Mr P Nyasa


    5 berichten
    Lid sinds May 2009

    It is a waste of time to compare this Dark Continent and its problems to the rest of the world. Like every other nation and every individual, we are the cause of our own problems. With the resources to mature and become a dominant international presence, our continent continues to roll-about in the slop of corruption, decadence and a blatant refusal to modernise our backward infrastructures. It remains only a handful of African leaders who have been ready to take a step back and realise the lowly global position in which we sit and thus make a concerted decision and effort for reformation. In Africa, our cultures are worse than communism and chain us to the mistakes of our forefathers. What does it really take to make a difference?
    The advice was given by T.B. Joshua, the pastor of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria, that we Africans should stop trading our oil for money, but rather oil for the technology of the more advanced civilisations. He advised that this method would effectively remove the issue of corruption and at the same time improve and update our nations, which still remain classified as ‘3rd world’. There is an obvious need to listen to the wise in our midst, accept the gifted and encourage the diligent that the future of Africa may be brighter than its past and apologies such as this will become a distant memory