Sowore condemns African leaders for fueling xenophobia
Omoyele Sowore
Abdullateef Fowewe
The 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has condemned African political leaders for “turning Africans against one another,” drawing historical parallels between Ghana’s 1969 Aliens Compliance Order, Nigeria’s 1983 mass expulsions, and recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
In a shared post accompanied by three images — migrants boarding ships in 1983, officials from Ghana’s 1969 era, and a violent street confrontation — Sowore argued that leaders have repeatedly used migrants as scapegoats for deeper governance problems.
He wrote, “Time and again, misguided policies by political leaders have fueled division, while ordinary Africans are encouraged to turn against fellow Africans instead of confronting the governance failures, economic hardship, and injustice that often underlie these crises.”
Sowore recounted the two landmark expulsions, noting their human scale and political origins.
He said, “In 1969, Ghana’s Aliens Compliance Order, issued by Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia, led to the expulsion of large numbers of undocumented foreign nationals, including many Nigerians. In 1983, Nigeria responded with its own mass expulsion under the Shehu Shagari government, forcing more than a million Ghanaians and other undocumented migrants to leave. That episode gave the iconic woven bag its enduring nickname: ‘Ghana Must Go.’”
Linking past and present, the AAC candidate singled out recent outbreaks of violence in South Africa as a contemporary manifestation of the same pattern.
“Today, South Africa continues to grapple with recurring shameful outbreaks of xenophobic violence targeting African migrants,” he wrote.
“These episodes should remind us of the lessons of history.”
Sowore concluded with an appeal to African citizens and leaders: “Africans must learn from the past. Africans must reject xenophobia, uphold the rule of law, and refuse to be used against one another for political convenience. #RevolutionNOW.”
