South African President, Jacob Zuma has condemned the xenophobic attack on Nigerians residing in South Africa.

Zuma, who was on a 2-day visit to Owerri, Imo State, said, “A South African must not kill a Nigerian and a Nigerian must also not kill a South African.”

Other highlights:

• He argued that the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa as the largest economies on the continent should be stronger than any other for the sake of the African sub region.
• “Every country in Africa should unite as a people to fight for the common course of the economic and political emancipation of Africa.”
• “Africans must come together to address African problems. We are the same people. We cannot succeed if we handle problems as individuals. We need to recognise that we are one.”
• Zuma was honoured with Imo Merit Award and after signing of MoU between his education foundation and Rochas Foundation.
• “Nigeria is a country among countries in the continent of Africa and globally. What Nigeria says you must note determines the lots of many.”
• “I am an ordinary freedom fighter belonging to the African National Congress (ANC). But in 1994, I felt I have been part of those who have made oppressed people of South Africa to accomplish an important mission of liberating themselves. But political freedom without economic freedom is not enough freedom. That is why in our era, we have a government that will begin to make economic laws, because if the economic power is not there, there is very little you can do for the poor and the oppressed.”
• He noted that the gap in the development index between Africa and the West was created by the colonialists, who plundered the region’s resources.

[Read Also: Dear Rochas Okorocha, you’re mad for this statue of Jacob Zuma]

Okorocha stated: “This afternoon, I speak with mixed emotions for a great son of this land Africa, who has toiled and who has been directed by God all his life to get to the point where he is today. To some people, he’s a dogged fighter, to most people in South Africa, he is a freedom fighter and to me, one of the reasons I present this accolade is that he remains one of the most misunderstood persons in Africa.”

Omoleye Omoruyi

Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram