I DINED with a Nigerian elder last week, who told the story of how Nelson Mandela had lived in his Lagos home for several weeks in 1962 during a seven-month journey around Africa to raise support for the African National Congress’s (ANC) armed struggle.

Mbazulike Amaechi, an official in Nigeria’s first post-independence government, said he was asked by the leader at the time, Nnamdi Azikiwe, to host Mandela during his visit to Nigeria in May 1962. When Mandela visited Nigeria again in 1990 to acknowledge Nigeria’s support in ending apartheid, he personally sought out Amaechi and Azikiwe to thank them.

There has been a lot of talk about Mandela’s legacy at home but little about it fostering better relations with other African countries and their nationals living in South Africa, in particular the other pivotal African state — Nigeria. Despite the fact that the West African giant played a leading role in the anti-apartheid struggle — and was declared an honorary member of the Frontline States of Southern African nations — ordinary Nigerians feel their efforts have not been appreciated and that their welcome in democratic South Africa was not assured.

Nigeria chaired the United Nations (UN) Special Committee against Apartheid for 25 years until 1994 and, along with a number of other African countries, it offered shelter and support to the ANC. In 1976, it established a fund to provide assistance to apartheid refugees, with ordinary citizens contributing a percentage of their salaries to the cause. It offered passports, money and study opportunities to many South Africans.

Nigeria also used its political clout to harass supporters of the apartheid regime internationally.

Former president Thabo Mbeki lived in Nigeria in the late 1970s, when he befriended Olusegun Obasanjo, who was to become his presidential counterpart 20 years later.

The two men helped to shape a new thinking about Africa.

Two Nigerians were co-chairs of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa, which investigated options to end apartheid.

One was Obasanjo. The other was former Commonwealth secretary-general Emeka Anyaoku.

He befriended Oliver Tambo while a junior official at the Nigerian embassy to the UN and visited Mandela in prison in 1986 as part of the Eminent Persons Group. Between 1991 and 1993, he helped to break deadlocks in South Africa’s negotiations. They became close friends and Mandela, who wrote the foreword to Anyaoku’s book, also afforded him the honour of addressing a joint sitting of the National Assembly in 1998.

Anyaoku shared some memories with me in Johannesburg last week, when he came to pay his respects. He recalled he had hosted a dinner for Mandela in London in 1990. Asked who he would like invited, Mandela had said he would like to see representatives of as many multinational companies doing business with South Africa as possible. He wanted to assure them their money would be safe if they invested in South Africa.

Anyaoku and fellow Nigerian diplomat Ibrahim Gambari have been awarded South Africa’s highest decoration for foreigners — the Companion of OR Tambo — while Mandela received Nigeria’s second-highest honour, Grand Commander of the Order of Nigeria.

But Nigeria was also the place that gave Mandela a sharp dose of African realpolitik when he became president in 1994. His Nigerian counterpart was the military dictator Sani Abacha, who was the antithesis of everything Mandela had fought for, and a tough political opponent.

Mandela had several difficult encounters with Abacha, who was unmoved by the political reputation of the famous leader. In 1994, he failed to secure the release of a prominent Nigerian politician jailed by Abacha for treason, despite visits by himself, Mbeki and Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the request of the man’s family.

In 1995, the men crossed swords again. Mandela joined the appeals for clemency for nine Niger Delta activists sentenced to death for agitating for more equitable distribution of Nigeria’s oil wealth. Abacha promised Mandela the men would not be executed but, shortly afterwards, hanged them.

Mandela, who heard the news at the Commonwealth heads of state conference in New Zealand was angered by Abacha’s betrayal and called for Nigeria’s expulsion from the organisation.

Although Nigeria was suspended for three years, Mandela found no support for his principled actions within Africa. His unilateral stand without recourse to the then Organisation for African Unity proved to be a greater sin than Abacha’s inhumanity. Mandela unwittingly helped to inform a view in Africa that newly democratic South Africa saw itself as an exception on the continent.

But Mandela never lost his early fondness for Nigeria. He liked to share his memories of visits there and occasionally used to pop over the road to visit the then Nigerian consul-general, his Houghton neighbour, to talk about African affairs over tea.

Given the long and rich history, a lot more could be done by nationals of both countries to realise the potential of this important relationship. It would be a fitting tribute to Mandela.

• Games is CEO of Africa @ Work, an advisory and consulting company, and honorary CEO of the South Africa-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce.