The frequent killing of Nigerians in South Africa over the years has attracted concerns among Nigerians globally with its nationals seeking an end to the causal slaying of their compatriots.
Their concerns stem from the fact that relationship between Nigeria and South Africa, both African economic giants since independence era, has always been cordial and mutually beneficial, raising posers as to why slaying of Nigerians should be so casually carried out in the former apartheid enclave.
Nigerians have particularly noted that their nation was a foremost supporter of anti-apartheid movements, fighting the evil consistently until it was eliminated.
Aside contributing immensely towards the emancipation of South Africa from the grip of apartheid, Nigeria’s civil servants also paid ‘Mandela Tax’ to support the Africa National Congress in fighting apartheid.
The worry also hinged not just on why it is taking too long to end the recurrent killings of foreign nationals in South Africa, but also that without precaution to address killings and looting of properties in the country, there could be collateral damage there.
The recent killing of Mr Olusola Solarin on December 12, 2021 and Mr Kingsley Ezeh on January 6, 2022 has further thrown Nigerians into shock.Their worries are based on the fact that in spite of the historic role Nigeria played in the liberation struggle of South Africans during the apartheid regime, many Nigerians have died there a result of recurring killings.
Although there is no recent data update on the total number of Nigerians living in South Africa currently, it was estimated by Statistic South Africa’s 2016 Community Survey that 30,314 people, or roughly two per cent of foreigners born in South Africa are from Nigeria.
More so, data reveals that 127 Nigerians have so far been killed in the last three years, while 13 out of these were reportedly killed by South African police.
Solarin was reported to have met his death while returning to his base after supplying commercial goods to his customers outside Johannesburg. He was reportedly waylaid and killed when he refused to surrender his earnings to his assailants.
While Nigerians were mourning the passing of Solarin, who has since been buried at Makun community in Sagamu, near Abeokuta, Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa (NICASA) was thrown into shock over the killing of Ezeh, a native of Oduma, Aninri local government of Enugu state, allegedly by South African Police, on January 6.
For most observers, this is particularly nauseating because the killings are occurring after South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, sent a special envoy, Jeff Radebe, in September, 2019 to apologise to President Muhammadu Buhari, over the xenophobic attacks on foreigners on grounds that such killings do not represent South Africa’s value system.
Earlier, Ramaphosa had stressed that measures were being taken to ensure that the violence did not continue, as South Africa suffered international backlash for the xenophobic attacks.
The search for an end to these killings have become important amidst several warnings and negotiations by officials of both countries aimed at stopping the killings.
Analysts have observed that other nationals living in and working in South Africa have suffered similar fate, but pointed out that Nigeria appears to be worst hit and reiterated the need for an end to the killing of their compatriots in South Africa.
In this vein, analysts have underscored the need for urgent steps aimed at ending such extrajudicial killings to safeguard the lives and property of Nigerians in South Africa.
Mr Benjamin Okoli, president general of NICASA, said the passing of Ezeh was circumstantial, like others, in the hands of members of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), saying the killing was a ‘systemic xenophobic way’ of killing Nigerian nationals by the members of the South African Police.
According to him, if Ezeh was a criminal, the police should have arrested and prosecuted him, noting that his demise was a situation whereby Nigerians were arbitrarily killed without justification.
“Members of the JMPD invaded the Tyre shop owned by Ezeh in the late evening of January 4, where he was allegedly manhandled in the course of extracting information from him,” Okoli alleged.
“What led to the death of Ezeh on January 4 remains a mystery which would be unraveled by police investigation,” he added.
Also, Mr Danielson Akpan, former president, National Association of Nigerian Students, stressed the need for the South African government to take proactive steps to end the killings in the country.
According to him, Nigerian students would not sit idly and watch the dastardly acts of violence continue.
“We have seen the helplessness of the South African government in reigning on South African citizens and wish to condemn in unambiguous terms continued pampering of those involved.
“Every nation has her own internal crisis; no citizen of other nations should be sacrificed for criminal activities of South Africans or any other,” Akpan said.
Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairman/CEO of Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has stressed the need for thorough investigation into the killings of Nigerians in the country and to bring the perpetrators to book.
NAN
