SOUTH AFRICANS GIVEN 7 DAYS TO LEAVE NIGERIA

Abuja, NIGERIA

South Africans and their companies operating in Nigeria have been given seven days to pack up their bags and leave Nigeria by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) following an increase in Xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

Comrade Danielson Bamidele Akpan made it clear at a press conference organised by the Chairman, National Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in Abuja on Wednesday, that they want nothing to do with South Africans.

Akpan said they have had enough of the xenophobic attacks on their fellow Nigerians and action needs to be taken on South Africans to show strength by the Nigerian government.

He said that they had hoped that the government of South Africa and their citizens would end all forms of attacks on citizens of Nigeria and other African nations.

“Behold, the killings have continued and has even assumed a more dangerous dimension. This worsening development calls for a swift reaction. Importantly, we want to call on Nigerians in South Africa to reconsider their stay in South Africa and return home.

“Having gone through the first phase without any remorse or practical action to end xenophobic attacks in South Africa, we wish to announce that Nigerian students have decided to take on South Africans same way they are doing to our people. We have seen the helplessness of the South African government in reining in their citizens and wish to condemn in unambiguous terms the continued pampering of those involved." 

"Every nation has own internal crisis hence no citizen of other nation should be sacrificed for criminal activities of South Africans or any other.

“Since the economic prosperity of Nigerians can no longer be tolerated and their lives secured in South Africa, there’s no need also to condone the continued flourishing of South African businesses and her citizens in Nigeria.

“We therefore wish to officially ask all South African-owned businesses in Nigeria to relocate in the next seven days. We specifically want Multichoice, MTN, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Shoprite and others to close their businesses in their own interest within seven days.

“In the same vein, we request that South African nationals in Nigeria should return to their home country as we can no longer watch them enjoy peaceful living in Nigeria while our citizens in their country continue to pay with dear lives for no reason other than being resourceful and flourishing in their businesses and career.

South Africans should henceforth leave Nigeria with all their businesses. Nigerians are not joking about it and we are giving seven days ultimatum for this action to be carried out. Diplomacy has failed”.

However, Dabiri-Erewa stressed that the Nigerian government was doing all it could to make sure that the matter is resolved. She said President Buhari will be meeting with his South Africa counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa, to discuss on how to end the attacks.

Dabiri-Erewa said that Nigerians are getting angrier as South African kill their own.

“We are reaching a tipping point, we are getting to a point where Nigerians are getting really angry and they can’t take it anymore.

“It’s going to be one of the priorities that the Minister of Foreign Affairs would meet again with his counterpart in South Africa and review the early warning signal that was put in place, that has to be done while diplomatic Channels are being explored,” she said.

“One more death again in South Africa… it is becoming unbearable for Nigerians, you don’t go there and come back with body bags so we just have to do everything we have to do, to ensure that it does not escalate to that level where we start picketing and destroying property… that is not who we are,” Dabiri-Erewa stressed.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama reacted strongly to the scenes of violence.

"Received sickening and depressing news of continued burning and looting of Nigerian shops and premises in #SouthAfrica by mindless criminals with ineffective police protection," he said on Twitter.