South Africa’s firebrand opposition leader, Julius Malema, on Saturday, paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at Lagos House, Marina.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who disclosed the meeting in a post on his official X handle, shared photos of the encounter and described the visit as part of strengthening ties across the continent.
Malema, 44, is the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), South Africa’s radical opposition party known for its Marxist-inspired ideology and red beret movement. His visit to Nigeria coincides with the 2025 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), where he is billed to deliver an address on Sunday, August 24, at the Enugu State International Conference Centre.
The NBA conference is one of the largest gatherings of legal practitioners in Africa, often attracting influential leaders, policymakers, and international figures. Malema’s participation is expected to spark interest, given his reputation as one of the most outspoken and controversial politicians in Africa.
Malema has courted controversy in South Africa and beyond, particularly over his use of liberation-era chants that remain divisive decades after the end of apartheid. Earlier in May, he vowed to continue leading his supporters in the song “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer,” a struggle anthem used during the fight against apartheid’s white-minority rule. His defiant stance resurfaced on the global stage during a tense White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, where Trump screened a four-minute video portraying Malema chanting revolutionary slogans and accusing him of fueling racial tensions.
While critics argue that his rhetoric deepens divisions and inflames racial hostility, Malema’s supporters see him as a voice of resistance against lingering economic inequalities and unfulfilled promises of South Africa’s democracy.
His presence in Nigeria, particularly at an event of the NBA’s magnitude, underscores his growing influence beyond South Africa’s borders and his effort to position himself as a pan-Africanist voice.
The courtesy visit to Sanwo-Olu was largely symbolic but significant, marking an interaction between two leaders from Africa’s two largest economies.