Beauty queen the face of SA-Nigeria tensions
Tensions political, economic and social, analysts say
After Chidimma Adetshina suffered xenophobic abuse online, young Nigerians say they feel unwelcome living in South Africa.
Anita Odunyao Solarin, a 21-year-old Nigerian who has spent her entire life in South Africa, finds it safer not to disclose her West African roots.
She does her best to assimilate with her peers and rarely volunteers her origins. This, she says, shields her from persistent bullying – a phenomenon she’s faced since childhood after moving to South Africa as a baby.
“I try not to show where I am from or look Nigerian. I hide my identity socially,” Solarin told Al Jazeera. “Because I’ve had to do it for so long, it has become normal.”
Her earliest memories of the tensions between South Africans and Nigerians date back to kindergarten, where she was mistreated by a peer.
“It was disheartening. A child, just four years old, hated me even though we were in the same school, looked the same, and did the same things,” Solarin shared.
Solarin was brought up in Pretoria, but she doesn’t feel like she belongs in South Africa. Even decades on, she says it’s still easier for her – and other young Nigerians – not to disclose their heritage.
“Not many Nigerian children here will say ‘I am Nigerian’ because they are scared of the backlash and the hate. It’s just not safe for them,” she said.
Chidimma Adetshina debacle
South Africa has a long history of simmering anti-foreigner sentiment, and social tensions directed at other Black Africans in the country have turned violent over the years.
However, it’s recent events that have deepened Solarin’s disappointment with South Africa when, last month, 23-year-old beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina faced such severe xenophobic harassment as a finalist in the Miss SA pageant that she eventually exited the competition.
Adetshina, who was born in Soweto, Johannesburg to two immigrant parents, proudly spoke of her Nigerian heritage during Miss SA, sparking outrage from South Africans on social media.
Many insisted she had no right to represent South Africa in the competition.
“[Adetshina] was bullied online because her father was Nigerian. If it had been any other nationality, there wouldn’t have been a problem,” Solarin said. “People even said her father was a drug dealer. Where does that come from? It’s the assumption that all Nigerians are criminals – it’s annoying.”
Deep scars
For weeks, Adetshina endured trolling and abuse, with the online vitriol amplifying existing South African-Nigerian tensions that are fuelled by economic frustrations and stereotypes about foreigners.
South Africa suffers from widespread unemployment and sluggish economic growth. While the government does little to improve the situation, many find it easier to turn on migrant African communities, accusing them of taking jobs and increasing criminality.
The pressure eventually forced Adetshina to withdraw from the Miss SA pageant.
Adetshina later went on to compete in and win the Miss Universe Nigeria contest, representing her father’s homeland on the basis that she carries dual citizenship.
In interviews, Adetshina shared how the ordeal left her questioning whether she would ever return to South Africa. The emotional scars were so deep that she admitted she would seek therapy to cope.
‘Disappointed in South Africa’
Solarin’s mother, Doris Ikeri-Solarin, who is the head of the civic group Nigerian Union South Africa, says Adetshina was unfairly targeted by anti-Nigerian sentiment.
“This young lady was born, raised, and educated in South Africa. Whatever happened before she was born, she had no control over it."
South African foreign relations analyst Sanusha Naidu explained that anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa is Afrophobic. However, she cautioned against interpreting the Adetshina debacle as South Africans targeting Nigerians more.
“Let me put it this way, Nigerians give as they get,” she said of the online social rivalry between both states.
Naidu said tensions between large African countries were political, economic and social.
“I think the challenge is not about South Africa and Nigeria and whether we [are] Afrophobic towards them ... There are many competing factors and drives and push and pull issues that informed the way we react,” she said.
Economic roots
Alex Asakitikpi, a Nigerian sociologist based in Johannesburg, warns that online tensions can have real-life consequences. He attributes the conflict to economic rivalry between South Africa and Nigeria.
Asakitikpi, who moved to Johannesburg in 2012, acknowledges that while he has experienced xenophobia, most of his South African colleagues have been supportive.
“I overlook the subtle hostility. But I’ve taken precautions, like stopping communication with certain individuals. I don’t visit them anymore, nor do I invite them to visit me,” he admitted.
He argues that politics and media narratives often fuel xenophobia towards Nigerians.
Olorunfemi Adeleke, a migrant rights activist, agrees.
“In South Africa, it’s almost like being a successful migrant is a crime. The moment you succeed, you face a barrage of investigations,” he said.
Both South African and Nigerian social analysts agree that the rivalry doesn’t benefit either country or its people.
- AL JAZEERA
She does her best to assimilate with her peers and rarely volunteers her origins. This, she says, shields her from persistent bullying – a phenomenon she’s faced since childhood after moving to South Africa as a baby.
“I try not to show where I am from or look Nigerian. I hide my identity socially,” Solarin told Al Jazeera. “Because I’ve had to do it for so long, it has become normal.”
Her earliest memories of the tensions between South Africans and Nigerians date back to kindergarten, where she was mistreated by a peer.
“It was disheartening. A child, just four years old, hated me even though we were in the same school, looked the same, and did the same things,” Solarin shared.
Solarin was brought up in Pretoria, but she doesn’t feel like she belongs in South Africa. Even decades on, she says it’s still easier for her – and other young Nigerians – not to disclose their heritage.
“Not many Nigerian children here will say ‘I am Nigerian’ because they are scared of the backlash and the hate. It’s just not safe for them,” she said.
Chidimma Adetshina debacle
South Africa has a long history of simmering anti-foreigner sentiment, and social tensions directed at other Black Africans in the country have turned violent over the years.
However, it’s recent events that have deepened Solarin’s disappointment with South Africa when, last month, 23-year-old beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina faced such severe xenophobic harassment as a finalist in the Miss SA pageant that she eventually exited the competition.
Adetshina, who was born in Soweto, Johannesburg to two immigrant parents, proudly spoke of her Nigerian heritage during Miss SA, sparking outrage from South Africans on social media.
Many insisted she had no right to represent South Africa in the competition.
“[Adetshina] was bullied online because her father was Nigerian. If it had been any other nationality, there wouldn’t have been a problem,” Solarin said. “People even said her father was a drug dealer. Where does that come from? It’s the assumption that all Nigerians are criminals – it’s annoying.”
Deep scars
For weeks, Adetshina endured trolling and abuse, with the online vitriol amplifying existing South African-Nigerian tensions that are fuelled by economic frustrations and stereotypes about foreigners.
South Africa suffers from widespread unemployment and sluggish economic growth. While the government does little to improve the situation, many find it easier to turn on migrant African communities, accusing them of taking jobs and increasing criminality.
The pressure eventually forced Adetshina to withdraw from the Miss SA pageant.
Adetshina later went on to compete in and win the Miss Universe Nigeria contest, representing her father’s homeland on the basis that she carries dual citizenship.
In interviews, Adetshina shared how the ordeal left her questioning whether she would ever return to South Africa. The emotional scars were so deep that she admitted she would seek therapy to cope.
‘Disappointed in South Africa’
Solarin’s mother, Doris Ikeri-Solarin, who is the head of the civic group Nigerian Union South Africa, says Adetshina was unfairly targeted by anti-Nigerian sentiment.
“This young lady was born, raised, and educated in South Africa. Whatever happened before she was born, she had no control over it."
South African foreign relations analyst Sanusha Naidu explained that anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa is Afrophobic. However, she cautioned against interpreting the Adetshina debacle as South Africans targeting Nigerians more.
“Let me put it this way, Nigerians give as they get,” she said of the online social rivalry between both states.
Naidu said tensions between large African countries were political, economic and social.
“I think the challenge is not about South Africa and Nigeria and whether we [are] Afrophobic towards them ... There are many competing factors and drives and push and pull issues that informed the way we react,” she said.
Economic roots
Alex Asakitikpi, a Nigerian sociologist based in Johannesburg, warns that online tensions can have real-life consequences. He attributes the conflict to economic rivalry between South Africa and Nigeria.
Asakitikpi, who moved to Johannesburg in 2012, acknowledges that while he has experienced xenophobia, most of his South African colleagues have been supportive.
“I overlook the subtle hostility. But I’ve taken precautions, like stopping communication with certain individuals. I don’t visit them anymore, nor do I invite them to visit me,” he admitted.
He argues that politics and media narratives often fuel xenophobia towards Nigerians.
Olorunfemi Adeleke, a migrant rights activist, agrees.
“In South Africa, it’s almost like being a successful migrant is a crime. The moment you succeed, you face a barrage of investigations,” he said.
Both South African and Nigerian social analysts agree that the rivalry doesn’t benefit either country or its people.
- AL JAZEERA
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