Former President Olusegun Obasanjo believes that apartheid wouldn’t have ended in South Africa without the support of Nigeria.

Obasanjo who served as Nigeria’s military Head of State between 1976 and 1979 and later as an elected President from 1999 to 2007 said this during an interview on C-Suite Cafe, hosted by Ikem Okuhu.

He explained that Nigeria’s involvement in the struggle against white minority rule in South Africa was driven 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,” Obasanjo said.

According to the former president, Nigeria’s role in the abolition of apartheid in South Africa could be described as “enlightened self-interest”.

He added that Nigeria despite being a West African nation did not support the struggle with the expectation of receiving anything in return from the Southern African country.

“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,” Obasanjo said.

“Nigeria worked with several African and international leaders in the campaign against apartheid, including Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Samora Machel of Mozambique, former US President Jimmy Carter, former British Prime Minister James Callaghan and Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme.”

Speaking further, Obasanjo criticised xenophobic attacks against African migrants and Nigerians in South Africa, lamenting that the country’s leaders had not done enough to address the problem.

He said he acknowledged the fact that some migrants may be in South Africa illegally or may have committed crimes, but according to the former head of state, such violations could not justify mob attacks on their homes and businesses.

“I do not believe that you use illegality to treat illegality, asking and encouraging area boys and area girls to break into their houses and break into their shops,” he said.

“I alsl reject arguments that migrants were taking jobs from South Africans, this is because some migrants contribute to the economy by creating jobs.”

The National Assembly (NASS) recently suspended all official visits to South Africa and ordered a boycott of legislative activities hosted or organised by South African authorities over continuing reports of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African nationals.

This came as Cameroon identified agriculture, energy and transport as key areas where stronger economic cooperation with Nigeria could deepen trade and investment between the two countries.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, the NASS took the decision following consultations between the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Under the resolution, all official visits to South Africa by the National Assembly, its committees, lawmakers, officials and staff have been suspended until further notice.

The boycott also covers conferences, seminars, workshops, parliamentary meetings, legislative exchanges and other programmes organised or hosted by South African legislative authorities.

The National Assembly said the ban extends to both physical and virtual participation in South African-hosted legislative activities.