Whenever tensions flare between Nigeria and South Africa especially following xenophobic attacks, Nigerians respond across social media: “Nigeria helped end apartheid!” For many Nigerians, this isn’t just a throwaway line in heated exchanges; it’s a profound historical truth that deserves recognition and respect.

But how exactly did Nigeria help end apartheid in South Africa? The story is one of extraordinary sacrifice, unwavering solidarity and principled leadership that spanned over three decades and cost Nigeria billions of dollars.

The Foundation of Solidarity

The relationship between Nigeria and South Africa’s liberation struggle began almost immediately after Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960. Just months later, in March 1960, the world watched in horror as South African police shot dead 69 anti-apartheid protesters, including women and children, in Sharpeville. This massacre set the apartheid regime on a path of international isolation and increasingly brutal repression.

Nigeria’s response was swift and decisive. The newly independent nation, still finding its feet on the global stage, took a principled stand that would define its foreign policy for decades. On April 4, 1961, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, sent a powerful letter of solidarity to the African National Congress (ANC). This note became the first official communication from any Nigerian leader directly supporting the ANC’s liberation efforts.

Immediately following this gesture, Balewa spearheaded efforts within the Commonwealth to expel South Africa, leveraging Nigeria’s diplomatic channels to isolate the apartheid regime. Remarkably, Balewa’s administration wasn’t only committed in word but moreso in action. Nigeria became the first African government to deliver direct financial aid to the ANC in the early 1960s, predating more public support structures like the later Mandela Tax.

Nigeria also became one of the founding voices behind the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid in 1963. For years, it chaired this crucial committee that oversaw the implementation of international sanctions against the racist regime.

The Mandela Tax

Perhaps no gesture better captures Nigeria’s commitment to South Africa’s liberation than the establishment of the Southern Africa Relief Fund (SARF) in 1976. The grassroots movement touched every Nigerian household.
The fund, set up to “bring relief to the victims of the apartheid regime in South Africa. It provide educational opportunities to them and promote general welfare,” saw unprecedented participation from Nigerian society.

The Nigerian government made compulsory deductions from public servants’ earnings towards establishing this fund, with government employees paying directly from their monthly salaries in what was widely known as the ‘Mandela Tax.’

The scale of personal sacrifice was remarkable. Then-president General Olusegun Obasanjo contributed $3.7 million to the fund and made a personal donation of $3,000, while every member of his cabinet made donations of $1,500 each to the South African cause. But the sacrifice extended far beyond government officials. Civil servants gave 2% of their income to the fund, and “students joyfully skipped their lunch at school just to be able to contribute to the fund.”

Nigerian families literally took food from their own tables to support the freedom struggle of people they had never met but considered brothers and sisters. What mattered most was not the amount, but the conviction: the belief that injustice anywhere on African soil was intolerable, even if it meant hardship at home.

Sending Educational Lifeline for Refugees

Nigeria’s support went beyond financial contributions. The country became a sanctuary for South African refugees who had fled apartheid persecution. After the 1976 Soweto uprising, when young South Africans were being brutalized for demanding education in their own languages, Nigeria opened its doors and its classrooms.

Through the National Committee Against Apartheid (NACAP), hundreds of South Africans resident in Nigeria went to school free of charge. The Nigerian High Commission in Botswana issued hundreds of Nigerian passports to South Africans who had fled their country and gave them the dignity of citizenship when their own nation had stripped them of basic human rights.

Many of these students would later return to post-apartheid South Africa to occupy key positions in government, the private sector and academia and serve a living testament to Nigeria’s investment in South Africa’s future.

Festac

Nigeria’s anti-apartheid efforts weren’t limited to quiet diplomacy and financial support. In 1977, Lagos hosted the Second World African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC), which brought together artists from across the continent and united them in the international struggle against apartheid. Nigeria positioned itself as ‘the leader of the black world’ and was seen by some as “the new global hub of the anti-apartheid movement.”

The country also played a crucial role in securing Namibia’s independence by 1990 by supporting the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) financially in its efforts to end South African occupation.

The Price of Principle

By the time apartheid ended, Nigeria had spent an estimated $17 billion in support of liberation struggles in Southern Africa. Some sources suggest the figure was even higher – with Nigeria alone spending over $61 billion from 1960 to 1995 to support the end of apartheid, more than any other country in the world.

This massive expenditure came at a time when Nigeria itself was struggling with development challenges, military coups, and economic difficulties. Yet the country’s leaders and citizens consistently chose to prioritize African liberation over domestic comfort.

Nelson Mandela himself acknowledged this support, receiving a reported $10 million campaign contribution for the ANC on a visit to Nigeria in 1990. When Mandela was finally released and South Africa transitioned to democracy, it was Nigeria that sponsored the UN Security Council resolution that welcomed South Africa back into the international community in 1994.

The Mandela-Abacha Crisis

The relationship wasn’t without its rocky moments. The lowest ebb came in 1995-1996 when Nelson Mandela confronted Nigeria’s military dictator, General Sani Abacha, over the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni campaigners in November 1995. Mandela, who had worked to prevent the executions and believed he had assurances they wouldn’t be carried out, was devastated.

The South African president led international calls for oil sanctions against Nigeria and its suspension from the Commonwealth. Mandel also called for Abuja to commute the death sentences of, and release prominent political prisoners including General Olusegun Obasanjo and General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. Nigeria’s pugnacious information minister at the time, Walter Ofonagoro, dismissed Mandela as the “black head of a white country.” Yet even in this crisis, many Nigerians understood Mandela’s principled stand, even as they disagreed with his methods.

Obasanjo and Mbeki

Following General Abacha’s death in 1998, relations improved dramatically under the leadership of Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo and South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki. Both men came to power in 1999 and shared a vision of African renaissance. Thabo Mbeki, had lived in Nigeria as the ANC head of mission between 1977 and 1978 and had at the time, befriended Obasanjo, who was then the military head of state.

Obasanjo spoke of the two countries having “the burden of turning around the fortunes of our continent,” and together they worked to transform the Organisation of African Unity into the African Union, developed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and championed debt relief for the continent.

Their partnership was so close that Obasanjo later described their coordination: “There was a perfect understanding between Nigeria and South Africa when I was president of Nigeria and president Mbeki was in charge [in South Africa]. South Africa will not show interest in any position Nigeria wants and Nigeria will not show interest in any position South Africa wants.”

The Debt of History

Today, whenever tensions arise between the two African giants, the invocation of apartheid-era solidarity might seem like emotional blackmail. But it’s actually a reminder of what’s possible when African nations choose cooperation over competition, principle over profit. Nigeria supported the anti-apartheid struggle not for economic gain or political advantage, but because its leaders and people believed, with unwavering conviction, that fighting for the freedom and dignity of black people everywhere was a moral imperative, no matter the cost.

As successive South African presidents have acknowledged their debt to Nigeria and other frontline states, they recognize that this history creates not just gratitude, but responsibility. It’s a reminder that the challenges facing Africa today , from poverty to conflicts to marginalization on the global stage, require the same spirit of solidarity that brought down apartheid.

So, the next time a Nigerian brags about how Nigeria helped end apartheid in South Africa, remember it’s not just about the past. It’s about the future that solidarity can still build, if both nations choose to honour the sacrifice of those who came before them.

Primary Sources: The History of Nigeria/South Africa Bilateral Relations (2012) by Dawn Nagar and Mark Patterson and Nigeria and South Africa’s Bilateral Relations: Controversial Origin and Practice (2021) by Dr. Nnanyere Chukwu Ogo and Dr. Kenneth Igbo Nwokike