The Federal Government says it will not tolerate the “humiliation” of Nigerians or damage to the country’s interests as anti-immigration protests and xenophobic attacks escalate in South Africa.
On Tuesday, June 30, thousands of South Africans marched in cities across the country demanding the departure of undocumented foreign nationals. The demonstrations followed weeks of a citizen-led campaign that has displaced thousands and left four people dead, according to reports.
Police were deployed nationwide, with soldiers stationed in major cities overnight. Authorities confirmed several arrests for looting. There were isolated incidents of tension, including stone-throwing and confrontations where security forces escorted foreign nationals away from hostile crowds.
Amid the spike in protests, Nigeria repatriated another batch of citizens on Tuesday. Ghana and other countries have also evacuated nationals.
Presidential Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Demola Oshodi, said Abuja has activated measures to safeguard Nigerians in South Africa.
“We will not accept any sort of humiliation or definitely any huge damages to our interests there. It’s just not possible,” Oshodi said during a television broadcast.
He added that protecting lives remains the priority: “We take the lives of Nigerians more seriously than even these investments… and you can see that in the fact that the president has sent his ambassador there.”
Oshodi said hundreds of “most vulnerable” Nigerians have been moved out and that the matter has been escalated to the South African government. “We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” he noted, citing deep business and historical ties. “We’ve been the two largest economies in Africa. So it’s important we take things incrementally.”
The June 30 deadline set by protest groups for undocumented migrants to leave coincided with the latest wave of repatriations.
Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, said the government will pursue compensation for Nigerians who abandoned businesses and property.
“This repatriation will not end with just taking people to Nigeria,” Ajayi said. “We are going to systematically follow up… We will work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops and properties and present them for possible compensation. We will not allow the labour people have suffered to just go down the drain.”
