CheckPoint Podcast | Why South Africans Are Blamed For Africa’s Failures | 5 August 2026
Why are South Africans blamed when governments elsewhere in Africa fail their own citizens? Prof Gnaka Lagoke joins Nkepile Mabuse for a provocative CheckPoint conversation about migration, Afrophobia, Pan-Africanism and the pressure placed on comparatively stronger African economies. Drawing on Côte d’Ivoire’s history, Lagoke explains how economic success attracted migrant labour before declining growth intensified conflict over land, citizenship and belonging.
The discussion also asks whether a borderless Africa is sustainable without stronger governance, honest migration systems and responsibility from every country. Lagoke explains Ubuntu as a philosophy of dignity, integrity, sharing and collective development, then argues that African communities already possess financial traditions capable of funding schools, clinics and opportunity. Watch the full conversation on why solidarity without accountability may deepen the very divisions it is meant to heal.
Catch up on all CheckPoint Podcast episodes here: https://www.enca.com/checkpoint-podcast-0
Chapter List
(00:00) – Côte d’Ivoire’s Warning For South Africa
(03:18) – When Migration Becomes An Identity Conflict
(06:36) – Is A Borderless Africa Sustainable?
(08:17) – Corruption And The Migration System
(11:22) – Privilege, Failed Governments And Blaming South Africans
(15:26) – Can Ubuntu Survive Africa’s Divisions?
(20:28) – What Ubuntu Actually Means
(24:40) – Tontines, Stokvels And Funding Africa’s Future
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