When South African President Jacob Zuma visited Nigeria last week he was on a delicate mission to mend rifts between the continent’s two economic powerhouses.
From economic rivalry to political friction, relations between South Africa and Nigeria have been strained in recent years.
The election of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari into office in May last year did not immediately ease the tension.
Photo: EPA
When Zuma visited Abuja last week, Buhari set aside diplomacy and accused one of South Africa’s largest companies of failing the country in its fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.
Telecoms giant MTN Group Ltd was fined US$3.9 billion for missing a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards, a legal requirement aimed at hampering the militants.
Buhari said MTN was “very slow” in cutting off the lines and that the unregistered lines were used by “terrorists” and “contributed to the casualties.”
The Nigerian government’s concern “was basically on the security, not the fine imposed on the MTN,” he said.
However, MTN is not the only South African company riding rough waves in Nigeria.
Hotel and resort chain group Sun International Ltd is also a target of investigation by the country’s economic financial crimes commission.
“We have an exemplary track record of operating in many countries over the past 30 years, but the difficulties we have experienced in Nigeria are unprecedented,” said Michael Farr, Sun International general manager for communications.
“We’ll continue to evaluate the situation and therefore our options.”
Africa’s largest satellite broadcaster, Johannesburg-headquartered Multichoice, last year came under pressure to reduce its tariffs following accusations by the Nigerian authorities that it was abusing its dominant position.
Some South African companies, such as clothing retailer Truworths International Ltd, have pulled out of the country altogether.
“We closed our four stores in Nigeria, because we were unable to send stock to stores due to the regulations in Nigeria,” Michael Mark, Truworths chief executive officer told AFP.
Following the rebasing of its GDP figures in April 2014, Nigeria became the continent’s largest economy, overtaking South Africa.
While 120 South African companies operate in Nigeria, the west African nation is only Pretoria’s seventh-biggest trading partner on the continent.
After signing more than 30 bilateral agreements on trade, energy, defense and security among others, Pretoria put a positive spin on the visit.
“The visit of Zuma ... is a testimony that there is no undercurrent of ‘cold war’ between Nigeria and South Africa,” said Sola Oni, investment analyst and former senior manager with the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
“Nigeria is such a strategic country that cannot be easily ignored by any country globally,” Oni said.
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