Lagos: Without last-minute diplomatic intervention, Nigeria’s youth basketball team would have missed an international competition South Africa Last month.
Nigerian officials claimed South Africa had tried to prevent the under-18 team from taking part – the latest dispute in long-running tensions between the two African economic giants.
Recently the discord has spread to sports, music, ride-sharing apps and even beauty pageants.
But Olawale OlusolaAn international relations expert at Obafemi Awolowo University in southwest Nigeria said relations have been strained for decades.
Friction increased with the end of apartheid and South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, when Nigeria was still ruled by a military government.
In 1996, anti apartheid Hero and then-President of South Africa Nelson Mandela criticized the execution of writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others by Nigerian authorities.
Nigeria’s military chief of staff, General Sani Abacha, retaliated by boycotting the African Cup of Nations in South Africa that year, leading to a tit-for-tat rivalry that continues to rage today.
– ‘low ebb’ –
“Nigeria-South Africa relations are at an all-time low,” Olusola told AFP.
In 2019, a wave of violence against Nigerians in South Africa further heightened tensions. The mob raided foreign-owned shops, looting and destroying property.
As a result, nigerian government Brought hundreds of its citizens back home. South African businesses were set on fire and looted in retaliatory attacks in Nigeria.
A few weeks later, during the state visit of then President Muhammadu Buhari to improve relations, the two African giants signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement.
But this failed to end the rivalry, as the basketball controversy shows.
– Permit and joke –
The South African Consulate in Nigeria initially refused to grant travel permits to the youth men’s team without explanation.
It required the intervention of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the matter, giving the Junior D’Tigers a chance just hours before their first game.
Ugo Udezu, who led the Nigerian team in South Africa, described it as a “deliberate attempt” to prevent the team from playing.
South Africa’s Home Affairs Department did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
But South African sports analyst Matshelane Mamabolo said the initial refusal may not have been deliberate, but “could easily have been sportsmanship”.
“There is no love between the two countries, especially when it comes to sports,” Mamabolo told AFP.
Tension between the two countries has also disrupted things like ride-sharing platforms.
In August, the Bolt platform blocked “inter-country” requests between South Africa and Nigeria after people joked about making false travel bookings with drivers.
– Beauty pageants turn ugly –
Perhaps the most famous recent example of stress, Miss South Africa Contestant Chidinma Adetshina withdrew from the competition after receiving brutal xenophobic attacks focused on her Nigerian heritage.
Adetsina later won the Miss Universe Nigeria title, but has spoken about the lasting pain of the abuse.
South African cultural analyst Pitika Ntuli argued that Adetshina was “caught in the crossfire” as some politicians tried to weaponize anti-foreign sentiment.
– ‘Afrobeats vs. Amapiano’ –
Adetshina initially had the support of South African Grammy Award-winning singer Tyla, who defended her against online bullying, but she backed down after attacks from South Africans.
Tyla would find herself at the center of another rivalry between the two countries a few weeks later, this time over music.
Nigeria’s Afrobeats and South Africa’s amapiano have become some of the most notable genres worldwide, with artists from both countries collaborating and adopting each other’s styles.
But online feuds over accolades like the Grammys often see fans arguing over who deserves the award.
In September, Tyla won “Best Afrobeats” at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards for her hit song “Water”, ahead of Nigeria’s Burna Boy, Ayra Star and Thames.
Tyla said after receiving the award, “African music is very diverse, it’s more than just Afrobeats.” “I represent Amapiano. I represent my culture.”
– ‘Negative Competition’ –
In September, a former Nigerian foreign minister argued that South Africa’s “negative competition” with Nigeria was hindering the West African country’s progress in international politics.
Bolaji Akinyemi suggested that South Africa sought to keep Nigeria out of the BRICS group of emerging economies to strengthen its hopes for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
“South Africa is determined to derail Nigeria,” Akinyemi told a local broadcaster.
Despite the rivalry, South Africa remains one of Nigeria’s largest trading partners in Africa and a major importer of its crude oil.
Olusola argued that both nations would benefit if they could look beyond the rivalry.
“It is important for these two countries to strengthen that moral, philosophical, ideological, pan-African vision as a basis to inspire new forms of cooperation,” he told AFP.
