Lagos: Paul Ohia writes that the Western-led economic sanctions against Iran, played a role in compelling South Africa to turn to Nigeria for its crude oil supply, as well as smoothening the testy relations between both countries through the South Africa-Nigeria Bi-National Commission:

Against all the fault lines in their diplomatic relationship, Nigeria and South Africa inked a document on the Bi-National Commission in Cape Town on May 23 for the purpose of trashing out all bilateral issues and strengthening technical cooperation, existing bilateral agreements and customs and administration. 

South Africa also announced that it shall be turning to Nigeria to meet its crude oil requirements.

Deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe who disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Cape Town at the signing of a Memoranda of Understanding  with Vice president Namadi Sambo said following the uncertainty of supply of oil from Iran, Nigeria’s oil was part of the option available. 

The implication of South Africa buying crude oil from Nigeria is that it is guaranteed a new market for its oil, especially now that Nigerian oil exports to the U.S. are declining. Sambo and his South African counterpart had signed the documents on behalf of the two countries with Motlanthe bluntly admitting that the two countries have been having a difficult time relating with each other recently.

“Both of us need a heart-to-heart talk inspired by the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood as Africans with a shared destiny, so that we surface home truths as a prerequisite to clear up any irritants that may be currently serving as a wedge between us,” said Motlanthe.

He was, no doubt, referring to this year’s incident whereby some overzealous South African customs officials deported a planeload of Nigerians for what they termed as having the wrong yellow fever vaccination documentation which drew the ire of Nigeria which equally started deporting South Africans.

Sambo said Nigeria was open to greater involvement of South-African investors in the areas of infrastructure development, mining and solid mineral exploration, value chain in agriculture, oil and gas as part of efforts towards the objectives of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020.

His words, “The outcome of our work today including the signing of MoUs and agreements would hardly yield the desired result without the political will to implement our decisions. That is why we must follow up on the signed agreements to facilitate the desired economic and technical cooperation to stimulate growth, job creation and development of our industries and economies.”

The March deportation incident, among other issues, underscored the cold rivalry between the two countries and the rancorous way a small misunderstanding could trigger a bigger diplomatic row.

Another issue at stake which was highlighted by some subtler incidents on the sidelines of the summit in Cape Town was the race to lead the African Union Commission where Nigeria is the biggest backer of the incumbent Gabonese chairman, Jean Ping. Nigeria is also mobilising other West African countries to vote for him for a second term. But South Africa has its own candidate, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is the country’s home affairs ministers.

For this position, a stalemate is expected during the next AU meeting in July because the suspicion between the two countries is very pronounced. Whereas South Africa feels that Nigeria lacks the will power to reform the AU Commission, Nigeria is afraid that South Africa would use the position to consolidate its power over the entire continent.

Curiously, the two vice presidents avoided discussions pertaining to this issue but Sambo could not escape an inquisitive journalist who flung the question at him after the meeting. He gave a cryptic response that Nigeria would back South Africa in any quest to occupy international positions including at the United Nations.

The South African Broadcasting Cooperation, however, interpreted the response out of context to mean that Nigeria had shifted its stance to support South Africa for AU Commission chairmanship. But Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gbenga Ashiru, swiftly clarified the position stating that Nigeria remains behind Jean Ping. Nigeria and South Africa have been trying to occupy a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council and if the position becomes viable, only one country from Africa would be elected to the position.

Though the United Nations reform which would make this position possible is still a long way off, none of the two countries appears ready to give up the chance if it becomes available. On its part, Nigeria is expected to argue that it is the most populous country on the continent but South Africa could counter that it has a larger and more stable economy. But for now, the position is more theoretical than anything else.

At present, the rivalry between the two African countries can be traced to the contest by Nigeria and South Africa to lead continent. Other than crude oil, Nigeria has an abundance of natural resources, has one of the fastest growing economies on the continent, and is predicted to supplant South Africa as the largest economy in Africa by 2015. South Africa, on other hand, prides itself on being the biggest economy and beckons on foreign investors to take advantage of its stability. However, South Africa’s growth rate has slowed drastically and is predicted that it would grow by less than 3 per cent in 2012.

However, one must not overlook some other common reservations by both countries. For Nigeria, the entry of South African companies like DStv, Shoprite, MTN, etc, means that profits will keep moving out to South Africa, while the issue of immigrants both legal and illegal from Nigeria keeps it vigilant.

Nigeria tries to implement strict visa regimes for firms from South Africa while citizens of the former who go to the South African High Commission for travel documents face difficult hurdles. The aforementioned, notwithstanding, analysts believe that collaboration will be mutually beneficial.

According to Simon Allison of Daily Maverick, there was a promising hint of this kind of cooperation at this week's meeting, with a deal for South African to start importing more Nigerian oil and liquid fuel. South Africa needs a new supplier as it is likely to observe American sanctions on Iran, and Nigeria is more than happy for a new customer - especially one that brings guarantees. 

“This trust is a good start. If it could be extended to other areas - the AU race, for example, or a waiver of visa requirements - the two countries would be an unstoppable combination and a powerful driver of African development.” he said.

In his opinion, both countries are making mistakes. “While their calculations make sense, it’s only because they're based on the wrong premise: that it’s a winner-takes-all, zero-sum game and that there can be only one African “superpower”. But it’s a big continent, and there’s plenty to go round.” he said.