Nigerians’ travails in S/Africa

T e disclosure by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign
Af airs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, that 116 Nigerians have
been killed in South Africa through extrajudicial means in the last two
years, is as frightening as it is condemnable. She said nearly seven in 10
of the killings were carried out by the South African police.
T e presidential aide, who visited the South African High
Commissioner to Nigeria, Lulu Mnguni, in Abuja last week, sought
assurances that xenophobic attacks against Nigerians by South Africans
would be stopped. She also called on Pretoria to end extrajudicial
killings and criminalisation of immigrants in South Africa.
Her visit was sequel to the killing of a Nigerian, Tochukwu Nnadi,
in December last year by South African police of iers. Nnadi was
choked to death for allegedly dealing in hard drugs. She expressed
sadness over the criminalisation of Nigerians by South Africans,
noting that Nigeria and South Africa should rather be engaging in
cooperation that could lead to socio-economic development as the
‘two giants of Africa.’
“Yes, some do commit crimes and they deserved to be punished,
but the extrajudicial killings worried us. In the last two years, 116
Nigerians had been killed in South Africa and according to statistics,
63 per cent of them were killed by the police and we hope that the
death of the Nigerian who died on December 29, 2016, would get
justice in the hands of the South African authorities because I know
you will and I believe you will, she said.”
Dabiri-Erewa, however, admonished Nigerians living in foreign
countries to respect the laws of their hosts, noting that their activities
impacted on their compatriots who are law abiding.
Earlier, the ambassador had expressed regrets over the killings
and assured that the Nigerian government would get the report of
investigations into deaths of Nigerians in South Africa.
We recall that during the apartheid era in South Africa, Nigeria was
one of the foremost supporters of anti-apartheid movements, including
the African National Congress (ANC). T e Nigerian government also
issued more than 300 passports to South Africans seeking to travel
abroad. Sonny Okosun, a Nigerian musician, wrote the hit song
“Fire in Soweto” in 1977 to commemorate the 1976 Soweto uprising
against apartheid in South Africa.
Following the end of apartheid in 1994, South African businesses
sought for professionals to immigrate and a large number of Nigerians
did so. It is estimated that there were 24,000 Nigerians living in
South Africa as at 2011.
Prior to 1994, immigrants faced discrimination and even
violence in South Africa. After democratisation in 1994, contrary
to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased. According
to a 2004 study published by the Southern African Migration
Project (SAMP), between 2000 and March 2008, at least 67 people
died in what were identif ed as xenophobic attacks. In May 2008,
a series of attacks left 62 people dead; although 21 of those killed
were South African citizens. T e attacks were apparently motivated
by xenophobia. In 2015, another nationwide spike in xenophobic
attacks against immigrants in general prompted Nigeria and a
number of foreign governments to repatriate their citizens.
T e rapid growth in organised crime by some bad eggs mostly
involved in illegal drug traf iking, in South Africa between 1994
and 1998 is reportedly responsible for that country’s hostility towards
Nigerians. Nevertheless, it behooves South Africa, as a democratic
society and a member of the comity of nations, which subscribes to
the principles of the rule of law, to allow the law to take its course. T e
resort to jungle justice as demonstrated by the extrajudicial killings
by the South African police and xenophobic attacks by the people
negates the principle of brotherliness and should be condemned by
the civilized communities.
T ere is no doubt that South Africa, with a population of about
53 million people and a GDP of close to 350 billion US Dollars,
represents a suitable partner in our quest for growth and national
development. T erefore, the recent visit of President Jacob Zuma of
South Africa to Nigeria in company of over 150 businessmen and
potential investors is instructive. But this will come to zilch if the
extrajudicial killing of Nigerians in South Africa continues with
impunity.
We, therefore, urge leaders of the two countries, which are both
former British colonies, members of the Commonwealth and
African Union, Presidents Buhari and Zuma, to synergise towards
ending the criminalization and extra-judicial killing of Nigerians in
South Africa. We also advise Nigerians in the Diaspora to engage
in legitimate means of livelihood and be law-abiding in their host
countries in order to avoid unpleasant consequences as exemplif ed
by the killings in South Africa.