In 1988, Accord Party Presidential candidate Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, then a University of Lagos student activist, led a protest against former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's visit to Nigeria. On January 7, 1988, Hashim and four fellow activists breached a police cordon at Lagos Airport, advancing onto the tarmac to protest Thatcher's stance on economic sanctions against South Africa's apartheid government. Their actions resulted in their arrest.
Thatcher's visit sparked widespread protests from Nigerian students, workers, and anti-apartheid campaigners who opposed her position on economic sanctions against South Africa. The protesters believed Britain should exert stronger economic pressure to dismantle the racist system. Thatcher argued that punitive economic measures could worsen the hardship of black South Africans and damage neighboring African countries' economies.
The protest began at the Nigeria Labour Congress secretariat and proceeded through Yaba and along Ikorodu Road towards Ikeja Airport. Approximately 2,500 demonstrators carried placards and African National Congress flags. They aimed to make their opposition to Thatcher's position known at the airport's Protocol Gate. Authorities had anticipated the demonstration and deployed police officers along the route and around the airport.
When Thatcher's aircraft landed at 12:05 p.m., Hashim and four other activists - Odion Akhaine, Olaitan Oyerinde, Rotimi Ewebiyi, and Chris Ayaeze - broke through the police line and advanced towards the arriving delegation. Their sudden appearance on the tarmac caused alarm among officials and security personnel. The activists were quickly arrested and taken to the Lagos Airport Police Station.
The incident marked a defining episode in Hashim's early political life, reflecting his conviction that the struggle against racial oppression in South Africa was a shared African responsibility. The protest also highlighted the risks activists were prepared to take to challenge political authority and make their views heard. Hashim's account of the incident is part of his forthcoming autobiography, Sunrise At Midnight.
The protest was not an isolated event, but part of a wider history of student activism, human-rights advocacy, and resistance to authoritarian rule in Nigeria. Nigerian anti-apartheid campaigners saw the struggle against racial oppression in South Africa as a shared responsibility, and international leaders were held accountable for their policies. The episode illustrated the tensions between activists and authorities during this period.
Nearly four decades later, Hashim's recollection of the incident remains part of his public record as an anti-apartheid activist. The story brings the reader back to a tense day at Lagos Airport, when five young Nigerians crossed a police cordon to protest a British Prime Minister's position on South Africa and paid for the decision with their freedom, at least temporarily.
Key points
- Nigerian activist Gbenga Hashim led a protest against Margaret Thatcher's visit to Nigeria in 1988 over her support for South Africa's apartheid government.
- Hashim and four fellow activists breached a police cordon at Lagos Airport, advancing onto the tarmac to protest Thatcher's stance on economic sanctions against South Africa.
- The incident marked a defining episode in Hashim's early political life, reflecting his conviction that the struggle against racial oppression in South Africa was a shared African responsibility.
