The South African student community at the prestigious American University of Nigeria in Yola, Adamawa State on Saturday celebrated their national holiday in grand style.
The South African Heritage Day is South Africa’s biggest national holiday to celebrate South Africa’s cultural heritage and racial diversity as part of its post-apartheid national cultural unification drive.
Initially known as the National Shaka Zulu Day formerly set up by the famous Zulu party known as the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the day was renamed and reformed by the South African Government on September 5, 1995.
The thriving South African students community of up to 20, were not left out of the grand celebrations that went on for a week in their home country as the International Students Association in collaboration with the university were out in full force to celebrate.
Filled with colourful activities including singing and dancing, the three hours celebration definitely thrilled the campus.
Held at the university’s state of the art library auditorium on Saturday evening, the celebrations kicked off with South African music from their famous “House” to “Kwaito.” One of the South African students was the D.J. He is popular as “DJ Tito.”
The President of the International Student Association and the South African Students Association, Sello Mafokowane, in a very charismatic style took over the stage and welome the audience to the South African Heritage Day celebrations.
Mr. Mafokowane, despite being a staunch ANC member, looks like the famous EFF leader, Julius Malema, in terms of mannerism and charisma. The resemblance was obvious in his delivery of the welcome speech.
In his speech, Mr. Mafokowane urged fellow South Africans and other international students on campus not to forget their cultural values despite being in another country.
He pleaded for the spirit of Pan-Africanism to be the up-standing ideal for the students.
Mafokowane, a final year student of International and Comparative Politics at the university thanked the university community and the management for providing the enabling environment for African students of diverse backgrounds to co-exist in love and harmony.
Speaking to The Next Edition while the celebrations continued, Ms. Nolitah Makhoba, a second year student of International Comparative Politics with a minor in English said that “the willingness to learn about me, my people and my country is what makes this university top class.”
She further reiterated her stance to learn more about other Africans and was grateful to the university community for an environment of tolerance and love irrespective of differences.
“You can’t find this anywhere on this beautiful continent,” she added.
One of the main event at the event was the teaching of some dance steps, including the “Boot Dance.”
South Africans randomly called on Nigerians from the audience to teach them numerous popular dance steps.
With diplomatic ties between Nigeria and South Africa at its fragile state in over 20 years, it is no doubt a beautiful thing to see a thriving South African students population in a Nigerian university being at home and enjoying the experience.
