Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, has said Nigeria is dissatisfied with the treatment of its citizens in South Africa, accusing authorities of failing to adequately address attacks, harassment and intimidation directed at Nigerians living in the country.
Speaking to State House correspondents on Monday, Ojukwu said Nigerians were disappointed by the situation, particularly given Nigeria’s historical support for South Africa during its struggle against apartheid.
“Nigeria is not happy because Nigeria has sacrificed much for the South African struggle for independence.
“Nigeria sacrificed quite a lot, committed funds, committed resources to aid South Africa. In schools, seats were reserved for South African students. My own generation carried placards; we demonstrated in front of South African assets.
“Sometimes we even got arrested for doing this. Nigeria is a serious frontline state, and Nigerians are not happy about how they have been treated. They are not asking other migrants to leave; they’re only asking black migrants to leave,” she said.
Her comments came as the federal government intensified efforts to evacuate Nigerians affected by recent attacks and looting in South Africa through a crisis response initiative.
Ojukwu also dismissed claims by some South African officials that many of the affected Nigerians were undocumented migrants.
“To say that Nigerians who are in South Africa doing legitimate business are illegal migrants is absolutely untrue,” she said.
Asked whether Nigeria could respond with measures against South African interests in the country, the minister said the option remained under consideration.
“Well, that is a situation that we are considering. This is up to our legislature. This is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government, but it’s not off the table,” she said.
On the planned repatriation exercise, Ojukwu clarified that Monday’s timeline was for concluding documentation procedures rather than the commencement of flights.
“It (repatriation) wasn’t actually supposed to start today (Monday). It was just that we were supposed to have rounded off the formalities today. The repatriation is on course. Mr. President himself has reiterated that this aircraft must come to South Africa, and our citizens who are imperiled will have the chance to get on this aircraft to be brought back to their country,” she said.
The minister said the number of Nigerians seeking evacuation continued to increase and confirmed that screening procedures were being carried out by both Nigerian and South African authorities.
“The figures keep increasing. There are several processes, as you know, that have to be undertaken by South African Homeland Security.
“We ensure that we screen our citizens who want to return; they also are part of the screening process, and once the citizens are cleared, they are given a paper that indicates they are free to go, essentially.
“So, once this situation started getting worse, the President directed that a crisis response unit be immediately set up within our consulate and also the Nigerian mission in Pretoria.
“As things are, we have people in different provinces; we also have people who need assistance to get to the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg, so we’re in the process of all that, but the documentation, which is the most important aspect of this, has been done.”
She added that the evacuation programme was being coordinated with the National Emergency Management Agency and other government institutions to support returnees.
“This evacuation is being undertaken with NEMA. We’re doing that with various government agencies and parastatals to ensure that once they arrive they can be rehabilitated,” she said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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