Tag: Nigeria newspaper

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, on Wednesday, confirmed Nigeria’s boycott of the World Economic Forum (WEF) scheduled for South Africa.

According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari agreed with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo not to go to South Africa under the climate of xenophobic attacks.

He briefed State House correspondents on Wednesday, stressing that red line has been drawn against South Africa.

On the alleged recall of Nigerian ambassador to South Africa, he said that it is one of the options the government is considering and that final decision will be taken after the report of the special envoy sent to South Africa is received and considered.

The Minister also said that the Nigerian government is insisting on full compensation for Nigerian victims of the xenophobic attacks.

He said “We have made it clear that what has happened in South Africa is totally unacceptable. We will not accept it and as I said earlier, enough is enough and we are not going to come back to this, we are going to address it once and for all.

“So this is the position of government that we are going to draw a redline here. Whatever measures needs to be taken to ensure the safety of Nigerians in South Africa, we will take.

“We have been in touch with the South African government at the very highest level with the President of South Africa as to what we want to achieve. The special envoy has very clear directives about the commitment and the guarantees that we expect from the South African government.

“Of course a lot of things have been circulating in social media which have not helped matters. Some of them have really distorted the situation and because of that have impacted our response.

“So, number one is that the information we have from the High Commission, from the Consul General in South Africa is that no Nigerian life has been lost during this crisis. And I think that is very important because on social media, there is a lot of stories going around of Nigerians being killed, jumping off buildings and being burnt. This is not the case. What we know is that premises, shops of Nigerians have been looted and property destroyed.”

On the boycott, he said “The Vice President as you know was scheduled to go to South Africa tomorrow to attend the World Economic Forum, clearly with this climate, he and Mr. President have agreed that he should not go to the World Economic Forum in Cape town and we are looking at other measures to take.”

He also pointed out that the President was particularly distraght at the act of vandalism that has taken place here in Nigeria, in retaliation of what is happening in South Africa.

The government, he said, believed that Nigerians have to take the moral high ground on the matter.

“We are victims here and have made that position clear to the international community and to the South African government. We here in Nigeria must not fall into the temptation of also resorting to the acts that we are condemning in others.”

Stressing that the President has pleaded with Nigerians, he said that President Buhari is likely to make a statement on this.

“Addressing the Nigerian people to please desist from acts of vandalism and aggression, destroying properties.

“Now, these businesses- Shoprite, MTN and others, yes they are South African but these are subsidiaries in Nigeria owned by Nigerians. So, as attacks are made against shoprite and other such institutions, it is actually the property owned by Nigerians within Nigeria and the people working there are Nigerians.

“So the people that will suffer from those acts of vandalism and aggression are not South Africans or anyone else but Nigerians. But morally, it is wrong not even because of who will suffer and not suffer.

“Mr. President is appealing to Nigerians, the government is acting, we cannot state everything in public domain with regards to what we are doing obviously, but we want to assure all Nigerians that this government is determined that the redline has been drawn and we will not give in on this occasion and that the South African government has to assumed its responsibilities and do the right thing, protect Nigerians and other Africans. I might say in South Africa and we have to hold them to count.”

Read Also:  Red line drawn against South Africa, says Foreign Affairs minister

On compensation, the Minister said “Full compensation has to be paid because as we have discovered from previous experience, a lot of these Nigerians lose their property and it is a long drawn out process and every often are not compensated for it.

“But on this occasion, the Nigerian government is going to fight for full compensation and hold the government of South Africa to count. And we are going to consider other options to ensure that the message gets across to the government of South Africa.
It is not a question of weakness or anything of the sort but we have to move decisively and that is precisely what the government is going to do.

“We have all the options on the table and on the return of the special envoy, we will all sit down and look at all the options and assess the report.
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Counting resumed on Wednesday, in the disrupted Kogi Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary

The exercise which was ongoing ended abruptly in the early hours of Wednesday following the invasion of the Lokoja Confluence Stadium, venue of the primary, by gunmen.

Voting by the delegates had however ended and sorting of ballots underway, when the gunmen stormed the venue around 1.45am, causing pandemonium.

Read Also; PDP will retain power in Bayelsa, Diri assures

Votes in eight out of the 10 ballot boxes had been sorted and counted before the disruption, following which the Governor Umar Fintiri-led election panel called a meeting of all the 13 aspirants, at the end of which it was agreed that sorting and counting should continue.

The resumption of counting is presently ongoing at a lodge, adjacent the Government House Lokoja, with all the aspirants and their agents present. Five journalists were allowed into the premises.

Unconfirmed results from the agents indicate that Engr. Musa Wada is leading with 570 votes, followed by Abubakar Idris- 513; Senator Dino Melaye- 232 and former Governor Idris Wada- 200 votes.

Amb. Kabiru Bala, the Nigeria High Commissioner to South Africa, says the missions never shut its door against Nigerians who came to register their grievances over xenophobic attack in that country

Bala said this in a telephone conversation with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from Pretoria, South Africa on Wednesday.

The high commissioner debunked the claims in some quarters that the mission in Pretoria was attacked by Nigerians in South Africa because it did not give them attention.

Bala, who said story was appalling and wicked, added, “the two missions were never closed. Two groups of Nigerians came to the high commission last week Thursday. They were received by the Acting High Commissioner while I was away.

Read Also: FG to Nigerians in South/Africa: Avoid high risk areas

“They came around 9 p.m. and were received and assured of safety and security. So it was not true that they were turned back.

“Let those who came and were either turned back or found the embassy closed give specific date and time.’’

He said that the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria and Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg had offered immense assistance to the affected Nigerians in the crisis.

Bala said that the mission had started to compile a list of Nigerians affected for engagement with the South African government and other stakeholders.

According to him, all Nigerian victims of the current attacks are requested to come forward to report their situation to the High Commission and the Consulate.

“The two missions will continue to be home to all Nigerians in these trying times and in the future.

“Since the outbreak of the attacks last week, the two missions have remained open and continued to render normal services to Nigerians and other customers without hindrance.

“We appeal to Nigerians to remain calm and avoid any action that may jeopardise efforts to engage the South African government through diplomatic channels to bring situation under control and restore normalcy.

“The two missions are currently working alongside all relevant authorities in South Africa, including the police to address the unfortunate situation,” he said.

Mr Ben Okoli, the President of Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa (NICASA), who corroborated the high commissioner claim, stressed that the report was not true.

“The mission’s gate has never been shut against Nigerians; it has always kept its door open.

“What happened is that after the crisis in Pretoria where South African’s have destroyed Nigerian business and property, those whose property were destroyed had gone to the mission out of frustration and anger.

“So, I understand the situation; though it is not easy for somebody to lose his property and just be watching, but the mission gate was not shut against them,” he said.

According to him, they were received and invited by the minister of consular affairs who went as far as organising food for them and drinks to make sure that they are comfortable.

“So they were attended to and nobody would say that the gate was shut against them.

“The mission allowed them even though they came in by forced and destroyed part of the entrance, the mission provided food for them and gave them some drinks and that is it.

“And, they were encouraged to go and calculate their losses and bring back the report through the organisation. So, we are actually collaborating with people, who have lost their property.

“We are collecting inventories of what our people have lost which I will make available to the high commissioner in due time,” Okoli said.

The office of MTN telecommunications in Minna, the Niger state capital was closed over fears of reprisal attacks over killings of Nigerians in South Africa.

The office which is located along the Minna-Paiko Road, before the ever-busy Tunga Market was said to have been opened in the morning but had to close down at about 10 am.

However, the most of the shops housing DSTV operators remain open as some of them who spoke to The Nation said they have not received any threat from anybody and they have been assured that they can operate in peace.

The state has been peaceful and quiet and there was no sign of attacks or agitations from anybody or group. There has also been no street protest in the state.

Read Also: Xenophobic attacks: Youths burn MTN office in Ibadan

There was also no heavy police presence or postings of policemen to these facilities across the state capital, even in the places said to be flashpoints.

When the MTN office was visited, it was already under lock and key while the neighbouring shops explained that the staff had closed for the day.

Some yet-to-be-identified arsonists have set ablaze an MTN office located along Bodija-Agodi secretariat, Ibadan apparently to protest the xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.

According to sources in the axis, the perpetrators were said to have reportedly attacked the security men on duty around 11pm on Tuesday and threw petrol bombs into the building, setting it ablaze.

While a source claimed that the unknown arsonist were led by two young men who came to the office on motorcycles, another source claimed that only two young men carried out the attack after beating the security guards on duty to a pulp.

While contacted on phone, Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Gbenga Fadeyi confirmed the attacks, adding that all South African investment in the state has been properly secured.

When The Nation visited the scene, the building was being manned by officials of the anti-crime task force team and officials of the Oyo State Road Transport Management Agency (OYRTMA) monitoring human and vehicular movement to calm tension and ensure free flow of traffic on the busy road.

Speaking on the incident, Commander of ORTMA, Mr Ayoade Adeoye, said that the men of the traffic agency arrived at the scene of the incident at about 10:30pm on Tuesday when it got the information of attack on the MTN building.

Adeoye said: “Some people on motorcycles were said to have arrived at the building and were asking the security men on duty some questions which they were unable to respond to.

Read Also: Xenophobic: Actress Genevieve Nnaji condemns xenophobic attacks

“They then descended on them and beat them. They came with a can of petrol which they used to burn the building.

“The police and other security agencies were here with us. We have been here since that time ensuring that there is no traffic problem as people come down here to see what has happened”

Many of the officials and staff of MTN who had reported for duty Wednesday morning could not believe their eyes at the incident.

Some of them wore shocking looks while some others were seen making long phone calls.

But, none of them was ready to speak to journalists on the incident as they looked depressed and afraid.

A man, who had come to telecommunications office to retrieve his SIM card which he claimed, was stolen the day before expressed disappointment and shock at the development.

He said: “I was not aware that something like this has happened. I was coming down to retrieve my line because my phone was stolen yesterday. I am shocked to see this now”

An on-air personality, Adedeji Ademola, who had come to see the incident, however said Nigerians should consider other approaches other than violence.

He noted that the property that housed the MTN building belonged to a Nigerian, who along with other Nigerians working in that office have become victims

“We may decide to boycott their services. Stay away from buying from them and allow government to step up diplomatic relations. Doing this (burning) is not good for the livelihood of Nigerians who are already pushed below poverty level,” he advised.