Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof. Mike Ozekhome, has described South Africa’s opposition Julius Malema’s remarks at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) annual national conference as a powerful wake-up call for Nigeria to take up its rightful leadership role on the African continent.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Sunday night, Ozekhome stressed that Malema’s message should not be taken lightly.
“That speech, to me, is very significant. It is a big clarion call for Nigeria as the giant of Africa, with a population of about 237 million people by Wordometer out of Africa’s 1.55 billion people, constituting 18.83 percent of the world’s population,” Ozekhome said.
“He said, ‘Look, you are the giant of Africa, you ought to get up and lead from the front, not from the back. Do not just be giant in size alone, be giant in action’. I think that clarion call is very important, having regard to the history of Africa which was once referred to as the dark continent.”
Referencing Walter Rodney’s seminal book ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’, Ozekhome traced Africa’s challenges back to the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference convened by Otto von Bismarck, the first German Chancellor.
“The entire Berlin/West African Conference was all about partitioning Africa, the scramble for Africa, where Europe was given virtually the entire coast. Why were they doing that? It was to get hold of our vast mineral resources, every agricultural resource, while they would now manufacture and sell back to us. That gave Europe an economic advantage over Africa till date. That is what happened,” he explained.
He praised Malema for his courage and the strength of his opposition voice, contrasting it with weaker forms of politics.
“So when a person like Malema, who is a strong voice in Africa, in the opposition, speaks, he shows what an opposition should be, not bread-and-butter opposition that can be bought over,” Ozekhome stated.
