Obasanjo: Apartheid Would Not Have Ended in South Africa Without Nigeria’s Intervention
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigeria played a crucial role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, arguing that the system would not have ended when it did without Nigeria’s intervention.
Obasanjo said Nigeria’s involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle was not motivated by personal or national interests but by the belief that no Black person should be treated as inferior because of their skin colour.
“We were not doing what we did in South Africa or in Southern Africa or decolonisation anywhere for our personal gain or for our country. We did it for our race. I believe that no Black man anywhere or Black person anywhere should be regarded as an inferior human being because of his colour.
“That was the principle; we stuck with it and fought for it. And for me, and I believe for Nigeria at that time and even now, we should be proud of what we did because without Nigeria, South Africa would not have got rid of apartheid when it got rid of it. That is true,” he said.
The former president also addressed the issue of illegal migration, acknowledging that some illegal migrants may be involved in criminal activities but cautioning against responding to illegality with illegality.
“There are criminals among the illegal migrants, but I do not believe that you use illegality to treat illegality,” Obasanjo said.
