International Committee of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) has described as barbaric, the xenophobic attacks on other Africans living in some parts of South Africa as widely reported in the media since Monday, September 2.

A statement issued on Friday in Lagos by the AFRIMA Secretariat also condemned the reverberating reprisal attacks in some countries in Africa such as Nigeria and Zambia, adding that “the scourge of xenophobia in its entirety is a cancerous threat to Africa’s unity, peaceful co-existence and economic growth that AFRIMA is known to have championed for years through the instrumentality of culture and music.

On his part, the President and Executive Producer of AFRIMA, Mike Dada, expressed displeasure and disappointment over the widespread, calculated violence, hate and xenophobia on African migrants in Africa.

“While we view these unfortunate attacks and counter-attacks on fellow Africans as by-products of anti-poor policies of most successive governments in Africa which create huge inequalities and lack of opportunities for millions of young people on the continent, Africans should note that the myriads of common problems of joblessness, diseases, hunger, lack of quality education, extreme poverty, homelessness and lack of access to finance are the true enemies of Africa that can only be defeated only if there is a united, collaborative and peaceful Africa.

“The bigger picture by AFRIMA is to see a borderless continent where individuals live freely, trade and coexist in unity and leverage on one of the most powerful tools that bind us together which is music,” Mr Dada added.

AFRIMA Country Director for South Africa, Lekunutu Seboko, noted that there should be no justification for hating on a fellow human. “I say no to xenophobia; African unity must not be a vain word. There can be no justification for any South Africans to attack people from other countries, let’s all-embrace Africanism,” he advised.

“AFRIMA, in partnership with African Union Commission (AUC) is committed to achieving the AU Charter objective of promoting social integration in the five regions of Africa, while recognising and rewarding the work and talent of a myriad of the artiste in the African music and cultural industry.

“AFRIMA calls on political leaders, business leaders, traditional leaders, artistes, players in the creative industries and people of good conscience in Africa to condemn this act of hate and needless xenophobia, embrace and propagate peace and harmony through their actions and utterances on this volatile issue. This cycle of violence must stop for us to move forward as a people,” the statement from the secretariat said.

The All Africa Music Awards is a youth-focused music property that celebrates Africa, recognises and rewards the work and talents of a myriad of African artists across generations. AFRIMA is committed to the stimulation of conversations among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the world about the potentials of the cultural and creative economy for real enterprise on the continent, contributing significantly to social cohesion and continental integration as well as sustainable economic growth and development in Africa by lending its voice to promotion of education and campaign against extreme poverty and preventable diseases.

Update news