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Yola — Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu, yesterday apologised on behalf of millions of his compatriots in South Africa for last year's xenophobic attacks on other Africans, including Nigerians, resident in the country, describing it as "a totally shameless thing to do."
Tutu, who gave the convocation address at the first convocation ceremony of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola said South Africa owed Nigeria a lot of debt because it led the struggle against Apartheid as the Chair of the Committee on Apartheid of the United Nations. "We showed that we are ungrateful. Forgive us", he said.
The clergy, who was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the ceremony, lamented the poverty, epidemic and war in different countries in the continent and asked the poignant question: "Would you advise anyone to invest in Africa? A continent that has one President indicted by the ICC? A king in Swaziland who seems to know nothing about democracy? A continent where one country is just recovering from genocide? Look at what is happening in DRC, in Zimbabawe?"
According to him, "South Africa is the epicentre of HIV/AIDs. Can you believe it, that 1, 000 people die of AIDs in South Africa every day? That is like three jumbo jets crashing every day. Can you imagine that? We can count the countries of which we should be genuinely proud in Africa."
Pointing at the graduands, he said passionately: "You have a huge responsibility to make Africa viable, with transparent, accountable government. Whenever I go to Dubai, to Qatar I get really jealous. They have been fanstastic with their oil revenue, providing housing, education, medical care, for their people.
"Why is it not possible for oil-rich African countries to do the same? Why is it not possible for Nigeria to do the same? We must have accountable leaders.
"We can't have leaders who hold unto power until you get a government of national unity because they refuse to accept defeat. Africa, Africa, wake up. We have wonderful people. Let this continent make God proud."
He also offered what he called "A little encouragement", saying, those who criticise Africa have a very short memory.
"Have you forgotten the holocaust? Have you forgotten the gulads in Russia? Communism, Nascism, Fascism did not come from Africa. They were European inventions. Your history gives us hope. A western country was the first to use weapons of mass destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those countries have been able to rise. Africa, there is hope," he assured.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who was represented by the Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, congratulated the founder of the institution, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, for the full accreditation of all the programmes of the four-year old university by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
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I wish the world could have more people of TUTU's calibre. I am mostly intrigued by the part on the Swazi king and all these dictaters who run their countries like their back-yard spaza-shops and still manage to plant big grins across their faces like absolutely nothing is going wrong...only, its not funny anymore!!!
This great man is a blessing to Africa. May God continue to prolong his lif for us.
Our situation here in Nigeria is a sad story for all to see. Thank you Bishop for the truth.
Hypocrite, what did you say when the attacks were taking place? nothing.Now he,s in Nigeria to receive an award and he,s running his mouth,fool. Desmond Tutu is a sell-out, a lot of people know him for that.He sold out during the apartheid struggle and is continuing with his open disregard for African decency,always wanting to be seen on the enemy imperialists side.Go home, your apologies are late in coming and only exposes your type. Poor disenfranchised and illiterate South Africans were butchering other Africans because they,ve been brainwashed into believing that their problems were created/ compounded by the African immigrants in their country and Tutu and the other so called hero,Mandel were nowhere to be seen,ironically, when Africans from south Africa were butchering other Africans, tutu was tucked away somewhere in the middle east preaching peace between the isrealis and arabs while his people where killing other Africans.HYPOCRITE and ingrate.
Reverend Tutu,well thank you for sensitizing our leaders conscience,that is the best you could do,the rest lies with them,as for xenophobic attacks,in south africa,the truth is the white people isn south africa that control the economic power and the media power along side the few black elites persistently re-inforcing the fallacy of hatred of south african populace against their fellow africans in other to divert their attention away from looting the that is going-on in that country ,as for the whites they are afraid of the increasing growing population of black people as they believe the south africans would soon die off HIV/AIDS and they will be able to take over the control of the country again.Tutu do not have a real say in runing of south africa government,and the unruly, illiterate populace do not even respect him,they only respect anyone that promise to give them free food,housing and finacial grant every month,nobody emphasise the real great sacrifice country like nigeria made during the appartheid time,they would rather associated with friends of appatheid like U.K or U.S and FRANCE.