Today, however, the optimism has soured as South Africa grapples with rampant xenophobia. Fast forward to modern-day South Africa, where a tense political climate has left the door wide open for populist rhetoric. The Nigerian diaspora has borne the brunt of this violence, leaving many to wonder if South Africa has completely forgotten history. For South African rioters to now target Nigerian immigrants with violence strikes many critics as a textbook case of biting the hand that once fed them. It is time for the South African President to call the instigators to order and let peace and good neighborliness prevail.