A South African man has taken to social media to sound the alarm over the devastating state of businesses in his country, and the video has since been making rounds online — sparking serious conversations across the continent, including here in Nigeria.
In the viral clip, the visibly frustrated man walked through what should have been buzzing streets and lively nightlife spots, but instead found ghost-town energy — empty chairs, idle vendors, and traders staring into the void with no customers in sight.
“Nobody Is Making Money” — The Bitter Truth on the Streets
According to the man, both formal nightlife businesses and informal street traders are bleeding badly. The patronage has dried up almost completely, and many business owners are reportedly struggling to break even, let alone make profit.
This economic downturn comes just days after a fresh wave of anti-immigrant protests rocked parts of South Africa — a country that has unfortunately become familiar with xenophobic tensions targeting foreign nationals, including many Nigerians and other African nationals living and working there.
The Ripple Effect Nobody Talks About
What many people fail to understand is that when social unrest happens, everybody suffers — locals and foreigners alike. When fear grips a community, people stay indoors. When people stay indoors, businesses die. When businesses die, jobs disappear.
This is a lesson that hits close to home for us in Nigeria too. We’ve seen it during times of civil unrest — remember how #EndSARS protests, as necessary as they were, temporarily shut down commercial activity across Lagos, Abuja, and other major cities? The economy does not discriminate when chaos reigns.
Nigerians in South Africa: Caught in the Crossfire
The situation is particularly concerning for the large Nigerian community living and doing business in South Africa. Many Nigerians have built legitimate businesses there — from shops to restaurants to logistics operations — and episodes of xenophobic tension have historically put their livelihoods and even their lives at risk.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and various South African civic groups have repeatedly warned that targeting immigrants does not solve South Africa’s unemployment crisis. Yet the cycle continues, and it is ordinary people — both South African and foreign — who pay the ultimate price.
What This Means for Africa’s Economic Future
At a time when the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is supposed to be breaking down barriers and encouraging intra-African trade and movement, scenes like this are a painful reminder of how far we still have to go as a continent.
We cannot preach “Africa must unite” on one hand and chase away fellow Africans with machetes and burning tyres on the other. It is contradictory, it is destructive, and frankly, it is embarrassing on the world stage.
The Bottom Line
The South African man in this video may not have intended to spark a continental conversation, but his frustration captures something real and urgent. Businesses are suffering. People are scared. And the economy — already under severe pressure from load shedding, high unemployment, and the rising cost of living — simply cannot afford more self-inflicted wounds.
One can only hope that South African authorities take stronger action to protect both citizens and foreign nationals, restore order, and create conditions where everybody — regardless of where they were born — can do business in peace.
Because at the end of the day, as the man rightly said: “Nobody is making money.” And that is a problem for everyone.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you have family or friends living and working in South Africa? Drop your comments below and let’s talk about it.
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