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Professor Akilagpa Sawyerr, speaking at the climax of his 80th birthday celebration public lectures in Accra, said the events in South Africa were very significant because they contain lessons which should be taken seriously.
"Many blame the people who went on the attacks, many want to retaliate, all manner of things. But I think, for me, the important point that comes out of that event is it reflects the failure of states of Africa to provide adequately for all its people," the former Vice-Chancellor said.
The two-day celebration was on the theme: “Celebrating a Life of Academic Excellence, Public Service, Thought Leadership and Activism”.
According to him, the reason for the xenophobic attacks in South Africa would be linked to the nature of the economies of African countries and how they were being managed.
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"The gaps that are created between the top small number, who get all the benefits and nobody else. It is that gap, combined with the failure to explain to the ones who are down that your enemy is not your neighbour or the person from across the border," he stated.
"It is a reflection of the failure of the economies, which we all run. They don't take their frustration out on the whites bosses or the Chinese or the Indians, they take it out on other Africans.....So, that to me is another of the failures we are talking about".