When Nigerians, Zimbabweans and Rhodesians Talked About Race

This dichotomy may be the basis that elucidates the historical perspective on solidarity politics in which Chigumadzi, a South African-Zimbabwean writer, situates her argument concerning the failing of contemporary Nigerians to identify with international black struggles. She states, ‘The irony which seems to be lost on Nigerians who choose to dismiss the struggles of their black sisters is that their country has a long tradition of supporting the struggle for liberation in Southern Africa’s minority white settler regimes.’

While Nigerian support for southern African liberation was extensive, it was considerably more nuanced than the aforementioned quote suggests. This was especially true in the moment immediately following Nigerian independence when Zimbabwean nationalists expressed major frustration with Nigeria’s foreign policy. In some respects, the distinctions within this heritage bolsters Chigumadzi’s argument, in others it reveals a bifurcated framework which affirms Husaini’s determination to ‘keep talking to Southern Africans about race…’