For South African brands doing business in Nigeria, the fear of losing money is the beginning of wisdom. The reaction to the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa couldn’t have been worse for business, as they were caught unawares by the backlash from Nigerians.
It is no wonder that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa – himself a successful businessman with major interests in MTN – sent a special envoy, Jeff Radebe, to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, in order to convey “sincerest apologies about the incident that has recently transpired in South Africa”.
For Nigerians, an apology from the South African president is not enough. Rather, balancing trade between both countries should be the ultimate goal. While Nigeria enjoys a positive trade balance with South Africa, 99 per cent of South Africa’s imports from Nigeria is from crude oil.
So that the African uses what? We in Africa know about slavery, colonialism and all that history, and yet WE tirelessly pursue American & European products, ideas and envy their way of life. SA relax, we are still using DSTV & buying MTN airtime.