Xenophobia: Nigeria won’t accept any damage to its interests and businesses, Presidential Aide says

The Nigerian government has stated it will not accept the “humiliation” or damage to its interests amid the wave of xenophobic attacks and anti-immigration marches.

On Tuesday, June 30, thousands of people marched across South Africa to demand the departure of undocumented foreign nationals after a weeks-long campaign that has sent thousands fleeing and claimed four lives.

Police were out in force for nationwide protests, which capped building demonstrations led by citizen-led groups. While there were isolated incidents of tension—including stone-throwing and confrontations where security forces escorted a handful of foreign nationals away from a mob—authorities confirmed several people were arrested for looting. Soldiers were also deployed in major cities for the night.

The renewed wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa has seen countries like Ghana and Nigeria repatriate their citizens. Another batch of Nigerians returned home on Tuesday amid a spike in anti-migrant protests.

According to the Presidential Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Demola Oshodi, the Federal Government has rolled out measures to ensure the safety of Nigerians and protect the country’s interests 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 on Tuesday. “But I do assure you that we take the lives of Nigerians more seriously than even these investments that I’m talking about, and you can see that in the fact that the president has sent his ambassador there.”

He explained that the Nigerian government won’t go to extremes to address the issue, noting that both nations share deep ties, especially in business.

“The government is really on top of things. I’ve said we’ve moved hundreds of the most vulnerable people out of South Africa,” he said. “We’ve escalated this to the South African government, and we are taking steps to do more.”
“There’s a lot of vested interest in both countries. There’s a lot of investments in both countries. We also have a history together. We have been the two largest economies in Africa. So it’s important we take things incrementally,” he added when asked about operational steps. “We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, as they say. So it’s watch and see what is going to happen today, the June 30th deadline they’ve given, and see how much the South African government is taking steps to protect our nationals.”

The latest repatriations occurred on the exact deadline set by some groups for undocumented immigrants to leave.

Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, stated that the Federal Government is actively exploring compensation for Nigerians forced to leave behind businesses and properties in the wake of the protests.

“So, this repatriation will not end with just taking people to Nigeria. We are going to systematically follow up on the information given to us,” Ajayi said. “I told them to be very accurate with what they are going to give because we are going to work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops and properties and present them to the South African government for possible compensation because we will not allow the labour people have suffered to build over the years to just go down the drain or be taken over by people.”