For 22-year-old Sylvester Boakye, the journey back home bin feel unreal.

As plane take off from South Africa go Ghana, e struggle to understand wetin dey happen.

“The time I dey for the flight, e be like I dey dream,” e remember. “I no fit imagine say after everything, I dey fly from that kain wahala go place wey calm. Home sweet well well and e amaze me.”

Boakye na one among many African migrants wey lately don return to Ghana because fear don dey grow about anti-foreigner wahala and threats wey dem dey send to migrants for South Africa.

Im story show the uncertainty, fear and vulnerability wey plenti migrants dey feel when dem jam the middle of argument about jobs, immigration and national identity.

But according to political analyst Stephen Phiri, the tension wey dey happen for South Africa no fit explain by xenophobia only. E still na sign of deeper political and economic crisis wey dey affect not only South Africa but many parts of Africa.

Life wey e build for abroad

Before im return, Boakye dey work for Pretoria, where im dey run hair salon. Like many migrants, im travel go foreign to look for opportunity and hope say hard work go give better future.

But daily life begin turn to fear.

“When you go outside to buy something, or foodstuff, or just to fresh your body, people dey attack you,” e talk. “You go dey fear to commot for house.”

One incident still dey for im mind.

As e dey waka go buy groceries, e notice four men wey dey come. Dem ask where e from.

“I tell dem say I be Ghanaian,” e remember. The response was immediate. The response was immediate.

“Dem talk say, ‘Una dey carry our work. Why una dey stay for our country?’”

According to Boakye, the matter quick scatter. Dem men allegedly threaten am with gun and knife and then rob am of phone, money and other things.

“Dem come carry everything,” e talk. “Even my clothes.”

The attack leave am stranded and traumatized. “I no sabi wetin to do. E be like I blind. Imagine say dem don attack you and you no sabi where to go.”

Im hope be to save small money to buy ticket back home. But e talk say na government intervention finally make im fit return.

Jobs, desperation and misinformation

For center of the argument na one question wey dey touch many people for South Africa: who go get the scarce jobs?

Phiri no gree with the simple talk say foreigners just dey “steal jobs” from South Africans.

“Nobody dey carry another person work,” e talk.

But e accept say economic reality don cause tensions. Plenti South Africans, especially the poor black majority, dey face hard economic condition and job no plenty.

“People don dey desperate,” e explain.

For some sectors, migrants dey occupy positions wey South Africans now want. But Phiri say the mata complex pass wetin many people dey talk.

Plenty migrants don dey work legally for South Africa for decades. Some don become permanent residents or don get citizenship.

“You no fit just show and push person comot after dem don dey work for 20 years,” e talk.

E point university and professional areas where foreign-born Africans don build career and legal status over many years. But many people wey dey protest no dey sabi difference between recent migrants, documented workers and naturalized citizens.

“There dey lack education,” Phiri talk. “People no understand how these structures dey work.”

E still add say migrants sometimes dey employed because dem ready—or dem no get choice—but to accept lower wages, and that one na sign of inequality for labour market, not just simple competition between communities.

The politics of anger

Phiri believe say political leaders get big hand for how tensions dey heighten.

For condition wey poverty and insecurity full ground, inflammatory political talk fit gain ground fast.

“When people dey desperate and person talk something wey touch their condition, dem go believe am.”

Phiri talk say the anger wey people dey show no just come out from nowhere. E dey shape by political stories wey dey turn people frustration commot from government failure to vulnerable groups.

“Election tin dey toxic,” e talk.

Some political parties, e say, don go after anti-migrant groups because hate towards foreigners fit turn to votes.

“If you create hate among the people and promise them better life when foreigners comot, people go support you.”

E say anti-foreigner mobilization don turn to regular pattern for South African politics during election time.

According to am, many wey dey join protests dey express true frustration about unemployment, poverty and small economic chance. Election times na chance for these complaints to loud well well.

Phiri point how anti-immigration activists and political groups dey relate, and say politicians sometimes benefit when dem blame foreigners for bigger social and economic wahala.

Beyond Xenophobia

Even with the violence and bad treatment wey migrants dey face, Phiri warn make people no reduce the crisis to xenophobia alone.

“You no fit just explain xenophobic or Afrophobic behavior anyhow,” e talk. “But at the end, you go see say we dey fight for crumbs.”

Im point be say both migrants and poor South Africans na victims of bigger structural failure.

“South Africans dey feel the heat of the failure of the post-colonial state,” e talk.

For im mind, the economic and political systems wey dem inherit after independence no fit solve inequality, unemployment and exclusion well.

As result, ordinary Africans dey compete more and more for limited chances.

“We dey fight as victims,” Phiri talk. “You and me civil with each other now because we don chop. But if dem lock us for one room for one week without food, then person throw small bread inside, wetin go happen?

“The problem no be say we dey hate each other, but person don create situation wey make us so desperate that we go begin fight,” e explain.

A Pan-African challenge

For Boakye the hairstylist, solution dey for greater unity across the continent.

“I really like make we open our borders,” e talk. “No borders for Africans. No hate for each other. Make we be one Africa and do everything together.”

This vision match Phiri own Pan-African view.

“The talks wey we get now dey more about separation than unity,” e talk.

Instead of to condemn South Africa straight away, e believe say Africans suppose try understand the country's challenges and dey do honest discussion about shared problems.

“We be pikin of the same mother,” e talk, “wey fit no like each other or dey compete.”

E still point out say plenty South Africans dey oppose anti-migrant action. Grassroots organisations and activists don mobilise against xenophobia and dey support migrants.

“The general South African public no be xenophobic,” e talk. “There dey groups wey dey rise up against these actions.”

Searching for a different future

For now, Boakye dey safe for home for Ghana. But the questions wey im experience raise still remain.

Will future election cycles bring another wave of anti-foreigner mobilisation? Fit governments solve the economic frustration wey dey make people angry? And fit Africans find way build solidarity instead of division?

Phiri still dey cautious. After the latest demonstrations, e predict, “things go remain as dem bin before.”

Still, e believe the crisis fit serve as chance to reflect.

“We get all the answers to our problems,” e talk. “The problem na implementation and political will.”

For am, the challenge for Africa no end for how to manage migration. Na how to build societies wey go give dignity, opportunity and inclusion to everybody.

Until that one happen, migrants like Boakye—and struggling citizens across the continent—go continue to bear the human cost of failures wey big pass them.