The Federal Government is talking tough over the spate of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians, calling on the South African authorities to take “concrete” action over the development.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, who spoke on Monday during a meeting with South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, who is a special envoy of President Cyril Ramaphosa, said there are growing concerns over recurring xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.
“We’ve seen a pattern emerge as early as 1995, in 1998, in 2006, in 2015, in 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and 2026. It is on record that from 2022 alone, 98 Nigerians have died in mob actions, in hate-related actions that we have called Afrophobia, because we found that the primary victims of this ugly situation are Africans, and Nigerians in particular,” the minister said.
“So, we appreciate the warm sentiments you have expressed. We also reciprocate our desire for us to maintain excellent relations and take urgent, concrete measures not just to build confidence but to address these ongoing Afrophobic attacks, of which we thought enough has got to stop—which is why we thought we should discuss firmly.”
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According to him, migration is a “fact of history”, and anyone who violates the laws of their host nation should be treated in accordance with laid-down rules and regulations.
“If there are criminals, as you alluded to them, we reiterate that the solution is not to kill them. I mean, we’re a country governed by the rule of law. If someone is, quote-unquote, a criminal for drug trafficking, there are rules and regulations: get them arrested, prosecuted, and jailed. The Nigerian government will not support drug peddlers. But please, what we are saying is to treat them in accordance with your constitution, in accordance with international human rights instruments, and in accordance with the minimum requirements of humanity.
“But what we have found is that these xenophobic attacks have gone beyond attacks on criminals. We have records of Nigerians who have legitimate papers to remain in South Africa, yet they have been attacked.
“And we could see some mob actions where we saw the police watching as if they were helpless to address this situation, which to us raises issues of state responsibility. They raise issues of complicity if the state authorities are not able or are unwilling to tackle these challenges in a manner that offers some confidence to citizens and foreigners that, indeed, they are safe to remain in the country.”
Ambassador Enikanolaiye said President Bola Tinubu directed the meeting to address the persistent attacks against Nigerians in South Africa in a frank manner.
The minister urged the South African government to take urgent and concrete steps to end what Nigeria described as recurring Afrophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African nationals, warning that the violence threatens decades of strategic partnership between Africa’s two largest economies.
Enikanolaiye recalled Nigeria’s support for South Africa’s liberation from apartheid and the close collaboration between both countries in transforming the Organisation of African Unity into the African Union, as well as advancing the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
For months, South Africa has been the scene of protests — some of them violent — against African immigrants that demonstrators have blamed for crime, unemployment and a strain on public services.
Since the recent wave of attacks against Nigerian immigrants in South Africa, the minister said about 1,500 Nigerians have been evacuated.
The minister said, however, that the repatriation was “not a pleasant experience, not just for the victims, but also even for us as a government. I recall I received the first batch. I shed tears on the plane when I saw children, women, and the elderly returning home almost with nothing.
“Some of their properties have been looted; some of them have been destroyed. I don’t think that is the way we want to conduct relations in Africa. I don’t think that is the way to go.”
South African police say at least four foreign nationals have been killed in attacks linked to the anti-migrant protests, though some African governments repatriating citizens have reported a higher toll.
More than 160,000 people have fled the country, according to an AFP tally based on figures from African governments repatriating their citizens, including about 1,500 Nigerians.
Nigeria, as well as Ghana, has been particularly outspoken over the South African government’s handling of the protests.
In some cases, anti-immigrant groups have burst into people’s homes and dragged them into police vans.
South Africa’s delegation, meanwhile, said the country was facing “criminality” from immigrants, including drug peddling and wire fraud.
“President (Cyril) Ramaphosa and the government he leads have been outspoken against any intolerance,” said Ronald Lamola, South Africa’s minister for international relations.
He added that the country has the right to “deal decisively with irregular migration and undocumented immigrants — including acts of criminality.”
South Africa, one of the continent’s most industrialised economies, has long been a magnet for both undocumented and documented immigrants.
But the nation is also saddled with high unemployment, weak social services and high crime, with immigrants being scapegoated for the country’s broader social ills and government failures, analysts say.
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