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Tag: South Africa

  • South Africa Catholic bishops counter authorities, say attacks xenophobic

    CATHOLIC Bishops of South Africa have dismissed as untrue claims by  the South African authorities that the attacks on Nigerians and other foreigners in the country by some South Africans were not xenophobic.

    Archbishop Buti Tigagale of the Southern African Catholic Bishop’s Conference Office for Migrants and Refugees said on Saturday  that the attacks were xenophobic.

    He said, “Once again we receive reports of the authorities doing very little to protect the victims. We received report of police standing by idly in Pretoria while shops were looted and people attacked. Not a single arrest was made on that day.

    “Once again the authorities resort to the old explanation: that this is not xenophobia, but the work of criminal elements.

    “Let us be absolutely clear – this is not an attempt by concerned South Africans to rid our cities of drug dealers. And this is not the work of a few criminal elements. It is xenophobia, plain and simple.

    “If it was about drugs, why are South African drug dealers not being targeted as well? Are we really to believe that there are none? And why are drug addicts who rob people in our city centres to get money to buy drugs not being targeted? If it is the work of a few criminal elements, why are South African owned businesses not being looted as well?”

    He added, “The teaching of the Church is direct and uncompromising. More than 80% of South Africans claim to be Christians. What are our religious leaders teaching the multitudes that fill our Churches every Sunday? Galatians 3:28 says: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

    Read Also: Catholic priest escapes abduction in Abia

    “By the same token, there is neither South African nor Nigerian nor Ethiopian. We are all one in Christ Jesus. “Let us take heed of this. We are facing a rising tide of hatred and intolerance, no different to the rising tide of hatred in Nazi Germany. If we do not take urgent action to stop it, there will be nothing left.”

    He stated that all religions preach fair treatment to foreigners. He called on all people of faith, and all people of goodwill, to speak out and take action.

  • Xenophobia: How South African union plotted attacks – Report

    A TWIST to last week’s xenophobic attacks in South Africa seems to be unfolding following a newspaper report that the violence stemmed from an “orchestrated campaign to destabilize the country.”

    The influential Mail and Guardian reported on Friday that “security cluster officials are investigating the possibility of an orchestrated campaign to destabilize the country.”

    An investigative report by the newspaper named the All Truck Drivers Forum (ATDF) as possible instigator of the chaos.

    It said: “High-ranking security officials have also discussed the political motivations behind the flare-up in violence, with theories that the violence was part of a campaign to embarrass and ultimately destabilize the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa.”

    It added: In parts of KwaZulu-Natal, freight trucks were attacked and set alight.

    Drivers found to be foreign nationals were also assaulted.

    ATDF, which purports to represent only South African truck drivers, has dismissed the intelligence, saying that its organisation is anti-violence. Its spokesperson, Sipho Zungu, said on Thursday: “When this latest violence started on Monday we were in court, so there is no way this was us. ATDF has never even had a strike, let alone [engaged in] violence [and] looting. The nation is being misled here.

    “What needs to be clarified is that ATDF is fighting for all truck drivers in the country, no matter if they work or not.” He went on to add: “The reality is that South African truck drivers no longer have jobs, and we have been engaging truck owners and government that they must get rid of foreign truck drivers.”

    Read Also: Xenophobia, business and diplomacy

    This kind of sentiment, and existing tensions, were worsened by political rhetoric around access to healthcare and unemployment before the elections. It reached boiling point last month, when police operations in Johannesburg to find fake goods were thwarted by shopkeepers, who pelted law-enforcement authorities with rocks, forcing a retreat.

    Public reaction to this took on a xenophobic tinge, with some South Africans blaming foreign nationals for a host of problems — from the proliferation of drugs and fake goods, to crime and filth in inner-city Johannesburg.

    Information shared with the JCPS cluster last Friday indicated that meetings to discuss strategy and co-ordinate attacks on foreign nationals were to schedule to take place this past weekend. The meetings were to be held at venues in different parts of Gauteng, including the Mzimhlophe grounds in Soweto, Alexandra at Pan taxi rank, Randburg taxi rank, Ezibayeni in Hillbrow and Part Two, Diepsloot.

  • Afrophobia, Nigeria and bloody South African riddle

    THE horror playing out in South Africa leading to the killing of Nigerians and citizens of neighbouring Southern African countries is, strictly speaking, not xenophobic. With nearly all the victims Africans, except in a few cases, the message is clear how the minds of South Africans work. It is pointless analysing their psychology; they are who they are, a people perhaps scarred by their history and their encounters with apartheid, oppression and poverty. Unable to respond properly to their nemesis, they have taken out their anger on outsiders, mainly blacks, as a form of catharsis. Will that resolve the underlying schisms and fault lines in their society? It is unlikely. But Nigeria and other victims of the needless slaying and looting perpetrated by South Africans against black foreigners reserve the right to find ways to curb the menace.

    Much has been written about how the South African mind works, and why they have turned against Nigerians and others Africans. Analysts have placed the blame on their history, particularly the apartheid era policies that disenfranchised and humiliated them. It is also of little importance now to begin to find fault with how the Nigerian government lethargically and clumsily responded to the challenge. Nigeria was at first slow in reacting, then when it jerked awake, its people and government are now probably overreacting. Consider for instance the fact that South African policemen stood idly by as their countrymen perpetrated Afrophobic attacks, and the abhorrent countervailing fact that Nigerian security agencies, in their effort to combat the attack and looting of businesses related to South Africa, managed to kill a Nigerian in Lagos. The irony neither strikes nor worries them.

    There is very little that can be done now to reorient the police in Nigeria and the security agencies. They will probably get far worse. And there is little anyone can do to energise a Nigerian foreign policy that exists only on paper. No matter how badly behaved a president is, and no matter how undemocratic he has become, it is important for him to develop the foreign policy he has conceived in his private studies and moments. There will be no such attempt in Nigeria in the foreseeable future, for not only has the country’s foreign policy shown no spark, the president also does not have a foreign policy conviction of any kind.

    In terms of the foreign policy weakness that afflicts and puzzles Nigeria, South Africa has become the other side of the bad coin. Given the inexpert way President Cyril Ramaphosa has tackled the Afrophobic rage on South African streets, it is suspected that though he is ideological, he is in fact as incompetent, malicious and anti-democratic as Nigerian leaders. Indeed, President Ramaphosa has seemed to connive at the violence against fellow Africans, believing that the victims are a significant part of the causes of the country’s national malaise. He has condemned the violence, but that condemnation has come late and is devoid of conviction and vigour, just like the Nigerian response to the killings opened up the presidency to allegations of being flatfooted on the matter because a section of Nigeria seems disproportionately the victims of the rage.

    With each succeeding generation, Africa is becoming more destitute of sound leaders. Gone are the Mandelas, the Kaundas, the Nyereres, the Nkurumahs and the Lumumbas. Sure they were not first rate leaders, but compared with the current crop of African leaders, including blighted Nigeria, they were really incomparable. Don’t expect the South African conundrum to be adequately resolved; Since Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, they don’t produce disciplined and philosophical leaders anymore in their country, and their crises will probably worsen in the coming years. And don’t expect Nigeria to have the back of their citizens anywhere, for the leadership crisis plaguing the country is even far worse than South Africa’s, and seems set to become more complicated. The killings in South Africa will taper off in the coming days, until another flare-up sometime in the future. Nothing will come out of the present crisis. Black Africans have given themselves a bad name; let them wear it like a badge, if you forgive the pessimism.

  • South Africa/Nigeria: Globalisation going sour?

     

    In most basic terms, the globalization of the world economy is the integration of economies throughout the world through trade, financial flows, the exchange of technology and information, and the movement of people…. Finally, African governments will need to actively encourage the participation of civil society in the debate on economic policy, and to seek the broad support of the population for the adjustment efforts—Alassane D. Ouattara in “The Challenges of Globalisation for Africa.”

    The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights has since its establishment promoted a good measure of peace and prosperity among African nations. It has also facilitated movement or migration across national borders to seek livelihood and for national companies to seek profit across national borders. The relationship between Nigeria and South Africa since the end of Apartheid has benefited from the principles of the Banjul Charter, hence the possibility of MTN and Shoprite coming to add value to life in Nigeria and for thousands of Nigerian citizens migrating to South Africa to make a living. The recent killing of Nigerians and destruction of their property in South Africa and the looting and destruction of property belonging to MTN and Shoprite in Nigeria have indicated major problems between the two largest economies on the African continent. Apparently, the two countries have neglected one crucial aspect of inter-country economic relations: investment in inter-cultural relations required to sustain such interactions.

    What could have been the source of this crisis? Certainly, it is not the absence of formal protocols between the two countries. The Banjul Charter, patterned after European Convention of Human Rights and Americas Convention of Human Rights, is as rich and generous as any charter could be. It contains all the rights that, if fully respected, could save Nigerian businesses in South Africa and South Africa’s businesses in Nigeria from the destruction, such as had taken place in the last few days. The rights in the charter include freedom from discrimination (Article 2, 18, Equality (Article 3, Life and Personal Integrity (Article 4), Dignity (Article 5), Freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 5) Right to fair trial (Article 7), Freedom of movement  (Article 12), Right to property (Article 14), to name a few.

    Consequently, the tension between South Africa and Nigeria in the last ten or so days need serious probing on both sides. It may not be enough to see the individuals that burnt shops belonging to Nigerians in South Africa as ungrateful people who are incapable of remembering the favours Nigeria did for South Africa during the struggle against white oppression. How many of the children seen on television burning and looting shops of Nigerians are likely to know anything about the good that Nigeria did to South Africa about thirty years ago? With stoppage of teaching history in schools in Nigeria, how many Nigerians of the age range in South Africa know this history of Nigeria’s assistance to South Africa? Equally, it may not be rational for South African youths to characterise Nigerians in their country just as drug dealers, 419ners, and illegal aliens. South Africa must also have its own share of global drug pushers and bandits.

    So far, Nigeria’s government has done the right thing: defend the interest of its citizens by saving them from harassment and intimidation, largely on the assumption that Nigerians ought to be viewed as innocent until proven guilty of any crime by their host country. Equally, the President of South Africa has said the right thing by condemning the behaviour of South Africans towards foreigners. Undoubtedly, professional diplomats would not see the current crisis as insoluble. Nigeria’s demand for compensation for lost property and lives is in order and would have been the most unassailable stance from any government had Nigerians not rushed to destroying the property of South Africans in anger. But diplomats should eventually have a way to bring smiles to faces of the two countries before long. It is not in the interest of the two countries for property to be going up in flames on both sides.

    What needs to form part of the investigation in South Africa is search for remote causes of what seems to be hatred of Nigerians and other foreigners in South Africa. Apparently, Nigerians in South Africa do not seem to harbour any hate towards South Africans, but it seems that South Africans have deep problems with the Nigerians in their country. It is the source of this negative emotion that needs to be clinically verified and both countries need to be forthcoming on this search for hidden fears, so that similar problems do not surface again between Africa’s two largest economies. Peace between the two nations is imperative to prevent frittering opportunities for them to benefit from each country’s comparative advantage in a fast-globalising ethos that can enrich the economy of each of the two countries and by extension of neighbouring countries.

    One good thing is that none of the two presidents; Buhari and Ramaphosa, in a way to suggest intolerance of otherness. If bad feelings reside at the lower socio-economic level of the two societies, the problem can be solved by re-orientation of such citizens through civic education and what Ouattara in another context in the discussion of globalisation as the need for “African governments to actively encourage the participation of civil society in the debate on economic policy, and to seek the broad support of the population for the adjustment efforts.”

    In other words, it is vital that citizens in Nigeria and South Africa are sufficiently prepared psychologically, cognitively, and emotionally for globalisation? It is not right for both countries to assume that because people in the two countries speak some measure of English, they are ready to live effectively and profitably in whichever country they have obtained visa to enter. Even evidence of cultural maladjustment is surfacing in many more advanced democracies, such as the United States and Italy where intolerance of otherness is causing problems for immigrants.

    It is wrong for national leaders to expect that citizens at the grassroots of both countries share the same level of understanding the leaders have about globalisation, especially when there are economic problems within both countries.  Since the end of apartheid, the average Nigerian has believed (and they still do) that South Africa’s economy is good and can be boosted with the turbo energy of the average Nigerian, for personal profit much more than they can do within their own country, Nigeria. This is not strange, given the human propensity to see the lawn being greener on the other side. But the reality of Black South Africa is that MTN, DSTV, Shoprite, South African Airways have not translated into a better economy for the average South African, just NNPC in Nigeria has not translated into economic opportunities for the average Nigerian. Indeed, South Africans assume that Nigerians should have enough to do at home without having any reason to share the little benefits available to poor South Africans with little access to land, education, and financial credit. There ought to be ways for both countries to give proper economic education to their citizens as they negotiate with other.

    For example, it is not helpful for South Africa to complain that Nigerians are drug pushers and 419ners. Did South African Consuls just admit Nigerians to their countries on the strength of the visa money they could pay without due diligence or proper interview and are Nigerians at fault for such consular lapse? On the other hand, do Nigerian Immigration officers issue passports to Nigerians largely on their capacity to become sources of home remittances every year?  What re-education of the masses about the new economy that accepts people with capital from other countries has South African government done since the first xenophobic attacks of 2008? How much soft diplomacy has Nigeria done directly or through its High Commission since 2008? Why are cultural exchange programmes just being planned by the Acting High Commissioner of South Africa to Nigeria? Why has such soft diplomatic tactics not been a regular menu of two countries with important economic ties?

    These and many other questions regarding preparedness of migrants from Nigeria to South Africa need to be settled between the two countries that cannot afford to reduce economic interactions, not only for their sake but for the benefits of other Africans in the century of global trade. Just as Ouattara had said in 1997 about the global century: “African governments will need to pursue a more active information policy, explaining the objectives of policies and soliciting the input of those whom the policies are intended to benefit.” Such advice applies to both Nigeria and South Africa.

     

     

     

     

  • Xenophobia: Don’t retaliate against South Africa – Adeboye appeals to Nigerians

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    Following the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye has appealed to Nigerians not to retaliate.

    He said that it is better to leave the matter for the government to handle, and not for citizens to take laws into their hands.

    He made this appeal on Friday night, at the monthly Holy Ghost Service of the church, tagged “Lifted into Glory.”

    Nigerians had during the week attacked business and firms of South African origin in major parts of the country, in retaliation of attacks suffered by Nigerians living in South Africa.

    It is alleged that the people of the rainbow nation were against the Nigerians because they believe that the foreigners are overtaking their jobs in their own land.

    Adeboye, speaking to his congregation at the Redemption Camp, recalled what happened in 1966, just before the Nigerian civil war, when the former leader of the Republic of Biafra, Odumegwu Ojukwu announced that he could not guarantee the safety of those who came outside the eastern region, asking them to return back home.

    Read Also: MTN board rejects xenophobic attacks

    He recalled that the people of the east were nice to the strangers, as the university authorities made plans to transport them back home, until they got information that the students of the University of Ibadan were holding their people from the east hostage, saying they would not be released until everyone from the western region had returned.

    “You don’t know what it means to be in another man’s land, not knowing what will happen. Be careful. Don’t retaliate against South Africa because of the Nigerians who are still in South Africa,” Adeboye said.

    Speaking further, the General Overseer said “Anytime they say that a university is rioting, the people who are rioting are usually ten per cent of the population of the university, the rest of us lock ourselves in the room, reading.

    “The average South African is a decent person, I know that. Those who are causing the trouble are not many. If you have a South African living near you, show them love, protect them from any harm.

    “If the government was to repatriate all Nigerians from South Africa, they will be back in the next two months. Do we have enough jobs for those who stayed back in Nigeria, in the first place, not to talk of repatriating people back?

    “For the sake of your kit and kin, don’t retaliate against South Africa, let us leave this issue for government to handle, while we pray for God to give them wisdom and understanding to handle the situation,” the revered cleric appealed.

     

  • Xenophobic attacks: FG, Reps insist on compensation for victims

    THE Federal Government and the House of Representatives are pushing ahead with demands for compensation to Nigerian victims of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, regardless of hints by Pretoria that it has no intention of paying.

    While Foreign Affairs Minister Godfrey Onyeama declared on Friday that Nigeria will challenge South Africa’s claims that its laws do not provide for such compensation, House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said, “We will obtain, by whatever means available, due restoration and recompense for all that has been lost in this latest conflagration and all the ones that have come before.”

    Senior lawyers are also asking Nigeria to sue South Africa domestically and internationally to obtain justice for the victims of the xenophobic attacks.

    Gbajabiamila, speaking to reporters in Abuja on Friday after an emergency session by the House of Reps on the attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, said the Green Chamber had heard the “the cries of our citizens.”

    His words: “Let no one be left in any doubt, we will seek and we will obtain by whatever means available, due restoration and recompense for all that has been lost in this latest conflagration and all the ones that have come before.

    “We are committed to a sustained and special effort to see that the ends of justice are met for all our people who have suffered.

    “We have heard the cries of our citizens and we have witnessed their devastation. We will mourn for the dead and cry for the lost, but we will not stop there.”

    He said that there ought to be urgency for demanding nothing less than total commitment to revoking the old arrangements that had made such abominations against Nigerians possible.

    Nigeria, he said, had demonstrated its commitment to the brotherhood of nations, sacrificing life, labour and wealth to achieve peace and restore freedom from Sierra Leone to Liberia, Sao Tome to South Africa.

    Gbajabiamila said that Nigeria’s commitment had always been to the advancement of Africa, freedom in all lands and prosperity for all African peoples.

    He added: “Yet today and too many a time, we are called to stand as pallbearers, bringing home to burial the bodies of our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, our children, savaged and decimated.

    “What is their offence? That they dared to dream of glory and profit beyond our borders, and having dreamt, they endeavoured to make real the visions of their heart.

    “We did not provoke, nor do we deserve the violence that has been visited on our people in South Africa.

    “We reject entirely the obvious attempt to change the true narrative of events by casting the recently organised acts of violence as merely internecine conflict between gangs fighting for turf.

    “Unless it is the position of South African government that all Nigerians living in South Africa are gangsters and criminals, we demand that they reject these claims without equivocation.”

    The speaker said that those who are tempted to respond to the latest incidents with violence and destruction in communities should resist such temptation.

    “We will honour the lives of our fallen brothers by making sure that never again will our citizens’ inalienable right to life and liberty be so wantonly denied here at home or anywhere else in the world.

    “We will honour the sacrifice of the fallen by devoting ourselves once more to a covenant of service to one another, certain in the knowledge that our greatest protection against such harms is peace, progress and prosperity in the homeland,” he said.

    The speaker hailed the actions thus far taken by President Muhammadu Buhari through the Minister of Foreign Affairs in communicating the government’s extreme displeasure at what has occurred.

    Gbajabiamila urged Buhari to direct the Ministry of Health to assist the families of the bereaved in expediting the return of loved ones who have lost their lives in the unfortunate event.

    “We ought no longer to wait until our people are caught in the foulest manifestations of these events before we take necessary action to protect them.

    “There have been reports that state actors may have participated in the worst acts of violence; sometimes actively, at other times by standing and doing nothing whilst murder and mayhem was unleashed.

    “We expect that the government of the Republic of South Africa will conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations and make public their findings whatever they may be.

    “Where any of these claims are determined to be true, we expect also that the individuals responsible will be held accountable to the highest degree allowed by law,” he said.

    Onyeama: why Nigeria will insist on compensation

    Foreign Affairs Minister Godfrey Onyeama, who spoke in the same vein as Gbajabiamila, said Nigeria would be demanding that the victims be compensated.

    “This is important despite the position of the South African government that there is no provision for that by their own laws.”They will definitely be made to resort to other insurance companies or other private arrangements for that,” he told reporters after a meeting with the chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora, Senator Ajibola Bashiru.

    Onyeama, however, said that despite the decision of the South African government not to pay compensation to the Nigerian victims of the attacks, the Federal Government would pursue the option by all means.

    But he said Nigeria would not severe relations with South Africa on the matter.

    “The options that are being considered are weighty enough to ensure that the government of South Africa is alive to its responsibility on the rule of law, but not in any way relating to severance of ties,” he said.

    He said that a wide range of diplomatic moves were being made by Abuja to get South Africa and its citizens to realize the need to prevent such attacks on Nigerians and other Africans in the future.

    “We are not thinking to the stage of diplomatic ties call off now. There are various options. We are not by any means at a stage where we are breaking diplomatic relations with South Africa,” the minister emphasised.

    He appealed to Nigerians to eschew retaliation in the interest of both countries, particularly considering that fact that about 800,000 Nigerians are currently resident in South Africa.

    The minister said: “Fundamental in resolving this matter is for us to appeal to Nigerians not to take laws in to their hands.

    “We need to exercise restraint as Nigeria is a leader in Africa, and as a country, we must also show that we are responsible, as two wrongs can never make a right. So we appeal to Nigerians to remain calm.”

    He said the special envoys dispatched to Johannesburg by President Muhammadu Buhari would return to Nigeria today.

    He explained that their report would guide the Nigerian leader to take a decisive action in the overall interest of the country.

    “We just met with the senate committee to review the situation with regards to South Africa, and we looked at all the possible options, we analysed the possible causes and agreed on a road map going forward.

    “Part of that road map on the executive side, Mr. President has dispatched a special envoy to South Africa who would be holding discussion with the South African government at the very highest level.

    “He (leader of the envoy) should be back tomorrow (today). That will now give the government the basis for further action. In the meantime, the government is very much on top of the situation.

    “We know for a fact that no Nigerian life has been lost, so we are extremely concerned now to ensure that there will be adequate compensation for property that have been damaged.

    “We know that a Nigerian Airline is putting a plane at the disposal of most Nigerians that wish to take the opportunity to leave South Africa. This is purely voluntary, but we are particularly determined to particularly make sure that this crisis does not reoccur.

    It has been happening for far too long. It is becoming almost endemic. So the distinguished senators are helping with some of the options that we may have to take to ensure that this will be the last time we will ever be meeting to talk about Nigerians attacked in South Africa and to take definitive measures.

    “To start doing that, we want to have all the facts available and then we will take the necessary measures.”

    The minister also advised his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, to desist from stigmatising Nigerians.

    He described Pandor’s statement as “outrageous stigmatization of a people from senior government officials that fuel xenophobia and embolden criminals.”

    Pandor had in an interview with ‘eNCA’, a South African news website, accused Nigerians of doing illegitimate jobs in South Africa.

    She was quoted as saying: “I would appreciate them in helping us as well to address the belief our people have and the reality that there are many persons from Nigeria dealing in drugs in our country.

    “I believe that Nigerian nationals are involved in human trafficking and other abusive practices. “This kind of assistance of ensuring that such persons do not come to our country will be of great assistance to our nation.

    “Nigeria needs to help address the belief that its countrymen are involved in criminal activities.”

    Also speaking on the Diaspora committee of the Senate, Ajibola Bashiru, said diplomatic options were the best approach to the problem and not retaliation or diplomatic face off.

    “As we are today, from reliable information, not less than 800,000 Nigerians are living in South Africa. So if you want to take a decision, you must be able to protect their interest because they have been tied to the South African society for many years.

    “So when you are taking a decision, you have to take a decision that will promote the interest of all Nigerians that are in that country,” the senator said.

    Sue South Africa domestically, internationally, senior lawyers tell FG

    Senior lawyers yesterday backed the Federal Government in its decision to seek compensation by legal means for Nigerian victims of xenophobic attacks.

    They advised Nigeria to sue the South African Government within South Africa and also explore international laws within the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) framework.

    Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) Chief Felix Fagbohungbe, Dr Paul Ananaba, Chief Emeka Okpoko and other lawyers told The Nation in different interviews that the Federal Government could also step up diplomatic pressure to resolve the crisis.

    In a recent statement, activist-lawyer Mr Femi Falana advised Nigeria to begin legal proceedings against the Southern African nation at the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, Arusha, Tanzania.

    Ananaba, who commended the Federal Government’s diplomatic efforts, said legal options may be available to seek redress for Nigerian victims of xenophobic attacks.

    He suggested that aside instituting legal action under the domestic laws of South Africa, Nigeria could also explore international legal options.

    The senior lawyer also suggested that the country could also go by way of diplomacy, where countries give and take in the interest of their citizens.

    “Government should no longer take anything regarding our relationship with South Africa for granted. Nigeria should be on the alert to protect Nigerian interests, not only in South Africa, but anywhere in the world,” Ananaba said.

    He emphasised that the South African government’s refusal to compensate victims of the attack was unacceptable.

    “Xenophobic attacks are not acceptable anywhere in the world. The world has progressed beyond such unacceptable behaviours now.

    “Even though the attacks may not be strictly aimed at Nigerians, Nigerians have suffered so much in the hands of South Africans.

    “I think the government is handling it well because they also have to be diplomatic in handling it, knowing that they are also our brothers”, he added.

    Fagbohungbe, who observed that the issue requires careful diplomacy, gave the Federal Government kudos for “handling it in a much matured and proper way.”

    He urged scare mongers and those spreading fake news about the true situation in South Africa to exercise restraint and allow the Federal Government carry out proper investigation.

    Fagbohungbe said: “I feel that we should investigate properly what is happening in South Africa. People should allow the government to investigate and give us their position. We should not jump into conclusion based on what we see on social media, though it is a very condemnable act.

    “We should allow the Federal Government to handle it and then give us their position before we start talking.

    “We have well experienced people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government has sent envoys there to ascertain the true positions of things because we are getting different versions from social media.

    “Even Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed, said the situation is not like we are seeing it on social media, because we may not know as much as government knows. So, we have to be careful so that whatever views we are making are not on wrong premise.

    “Let us know the findings of the government and then the next the line of action of the government.”

    Okpoko commended the government for the steps it has taken so far, but urged it to go even further and deploy more diplomatic measures in resolving the crisis.

    “We have to take an international diplomatic approach. The Federal Government’s withdrawal of the South African High Commissioner is okay but we need to take it further.

    “For instance, we can approach the United Nations. So, legal steps are okay, but we must combine it with high diplomatic moves.

    “We need to explore all diplomatic avenues,” Okpoko said.

     

  • Xenophobia, business and diplomacy

    AS  I write Nigerians are furious with  South Africans over the killing of Nigerians in that nation shown very  vividly on social  media. In retaliation some irate Nigerians have attacked MTN offices and in panic the South African Ambassador in Nigeria has closed his nation’s embassy until ‘the situation improves ‘. Similarly, the Nigerian government  has sent a special  envoy to the S African  government in protest  at  the killing of Nigerians while also stopping the Nigerian Vice President from  attending the World Economic Forum  conference  going on in S  Africa. Definitely Xenophobia has thrown spanner in the works for  diplomacy  between Nigeria and S Africa  and  the only silver cloud in the horizon is that   both  nations are  not contiguous neighbors  and  are   geographically so far from each  other, otherwise  there  would have been  more  than    the  beating of war drums on both  sides.

    In  business  and politics   this week  there  was an uproar in Nigeria over an award of 9.6bn  dollars   to a Irish   firm  over  a breach  of contract  with the Nigerian gas sector that  had  Nigerians worried  that the nation’s assets   could  be seized abroad  and locally. This came at a time that  the issue  of Brexit  in the British Parliament  was dominating  world attention as the British PM lost  two  key   votes   in Parliament to leave the EU on   Oct 31, deal  or no deal,  as well as the call  for  a general election. In  both  situations xenophobia  and patriotism  played a major  noisy part. Both  beclouded  arguments for and against  the manner and legality of the Irish   court’s  judgement  against the Nigerian government    well  as  the constitutionality of the British PM’s prorogation of Parliament whose  supremacy  seemed  vindicated by the  emphatic   defeat of the two  motions brought to  Parliament by the new British  PM.

    In  the xenophobic  patriotism  displayed  by both Nigerians and S Africans,  social  media played a major escalation and provocative  role that  made diplomacy almost impossible and almost  ineffective. This  showed  clearly  the   pervasive, borderless and  impactful    capacity of Information  Technology   and the Internet for  good  or evil, this time  for  evil, satanic and murderous purposes as both  Nigerians and South Africans had murder and mayhem on their minds, after watching the gruesome and vivid murders of their citizens   on social media. This showed  clearly    too that the world has truly  become a global  village and while knowledge and ideas flowed  effortlessly across the world on our phones and TV they  can also make  us reach for ammunitions and dangerous weapons when we see fellow  citizens being hacked to death  right before our eyes in the gadgets of modern civilization which we carry in our palms to  watch  xenophobic   horrors.

    The  way  out is for the two  governments to   caution their  citizenry on the harmful and provocative nature of social  media and to ask them  to use their  judgement  and common sense to discern fake news. It  should  be a direct  appeal in terms of adverts on TV  radio and in the social  media too, to ask  people to be suspicious of what they  watch and imbibe on Youtube as well as their platforms on social  media. This  may  be the appropriate  time to regulate locally in both nations what their  citizens  watch and act on gullibly and with impunity with the wrong assumption that any video they see reflects reality, when with the present spate of innovative and mischievous technology at play  and on offer uncontrollably that is not  always the case.  Of  course, diplomatically, the two nations must mend fences as two  wrongs  do not make a right. In   diplomacy   however what  is important is not  permanent  friendship that we have  with each other but permanent interests. Especially  economic  and cultural ties between  the two nations which  must  be protected and sustained  at  all  costs and  in spite of the  adversarial, satanic and  blood curdling social  media postings in both nations.

    In  the  case of  the $9.6bn it  is  not  an exaggeration to say that Nigerians are really  worried. I was dragged into an educative discussion on the issue during the week  by some well  respected elderly Nigerians. My  view is that the issue  is a scam  from the beginning to the end.  Just  look at the judgement award which was initially $6 .59bn  initially   with the proviso  that Nigeria  would pay $1.2bn  daily as interest that the company would  have realized had  the project been implemented. But  there is nothing on the ground and that award  certainly is one sided. It  is as if the judge was the lawyer  for the  company.

    My  take is that the initial ward  was unreasonable and certainly  one  sided. Even  our lawyer who  initially  agreed  that  the company should  be paid $250m  for breach of contract  should  be asked to explain why and what  for. Although Nigeria has paid  huge sums for breach  of contracts in the past especially during the Buhari Military  Administartion when it terminated the 700mnaira Metroline   project  and Nigeria was forced to pay a fine of  $78m  for breach of contract. That  was a reasonable  award and defendable  in law. The $6.59bn  award  to  P&ID for a breach of a contract  that  had nothing to show on the ground in terms of performance and  which went  on to calculate daily   interests on a failed contract  without  a performance bond certainly lacks equity   fairness  and credibility and should  be contested  vigorously by  Nigeria.

    It  is pertinent  to mention here that this  is a very  suspicious award and  is a trend  to expect in the fight against corruption.  This   is  corruption fighting   back  as I have  warned    before. Predictably     more of such failed contracts would surface from past  regimes because there are lawyers  businessmen and  contractors who  are like vultures   and  scavengers who  feed on the carcasses of such  failed contracts. Government on its own    should not shoot  itself in the leg  by turning on its officials involved in such transactions  but  focus on the whys and wherefores why  contracts signed in  the past failed  or  were  terminated  and why  government cancelled them and moved on with such public or state projects crucial  for its economic development  projects. For  now it is a field  day  for lawyers  on the interpretation of the judgement  but it is not a purely legal  affair because it has serious political and economic implications and  involves sovereign morality  too. This  is   because  the morals  of a nation  cannot  be seen  in the same  light as that of individuals  and persons .Government  should  therefore  seek  redress in courts to put an end to the crass injustice and impunity  of this contemptuously huge  and bizarre award, that  attempts  to ridicule  the   Nigerian nation and its  sovereignty.

    We  go back  to  Brexit  and  the political  humiliation of the new UK PM Boris  Johnson in the British  Parliament  this   week. In stark  terms the British  Parliament has  shown  its hand and strength when it  mattered and cut its hugely ambitious PM to  size  when it voted across party lines that the UK will  leave the EU with  a deal and extend its negotiations beyond Oct 31. Which  is a repudiation of the PM’s ambition to leave the EU by Oct 31, deal  or no deal.  26  members of the governing Conservative Party voted against  their government and were expelled while the PM’s brother, a cabinet  Minister  resigned.  The  Opposition leader Jeremy  Corbyn seem to be having his way.  Which is to get a law banning no deal  withdrawal, get a royal  assent, and then  hold  an  election. Boris  Johnson  by  now  should know that  the hood  does  not make  the  monk  and  that playing Winston  Churchill, a war time PM, in peace time  Brexit, is  a tall  order  and    a hard  act to  follow. As  William  Shakespeare said in the timeless play Julius Caesar, ‘ ambition  should  be made of sterner  stuff ‘ .  Once  again long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

     

  • Clamour for compensation unrealistic, says SAN

    Kwara State based legal practitioner, John Baiyeshea (SAN), on Friday called for a break in the diplomatic ties between Nigeria and South Africa.

    In an interview with one of our correspondents in Ilorin, the state capital, Baiyeshea said the country has tolerated the excesses of South Africa for too long, adding that Nigeria must not give the impression that she needs South Africa more than South Africa needs her.

    Baiyeshea said: “I personally believe that Nigerian government has tolerated the excesses of South Africa for too long. Kid’s glove diplomacy will not work in this situation.

    “The most appropriate diplomatic response now will be for Nigeria to temporarily suspend diplomatic ties with that country to let them know the depth of our disdain and disappointment.

    “If and when they show remorse, and after assurance for protection of lives and property of Nigerians, we can now reconsider restoring diplomatic ties.

    “Nigeria must never give the impression that we need them more than they need us.

    “Nigeria must come out of/from what I refer to as ‘inferior diplomacy.’”

    The Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that the South African government has not been acting in good faith since the attack on and killing of Nigerians began.

    He said: “Apart from unfortunate and tragic xenophobic attacks on Nigerians, even top Nigerian executives who go to that country for conferences are being killed in their hotel rooms.

     

    Read Also: Our moments of horror in South Africa’s xenophobic attacks —Nigerian victims

    “The South African government has never shown genuine and sincere concern for this tragic loss of lives. They have never been known to prosecute those who carry out the killings.

    “To me, South African government seems to be complicit in all these sad situations as they shield the perpetrators of these savage acts against Nigerians.

    “South Africa is hostile to Nigerians and it not only treats our people with contempt, it hates us. “Despite all the huge sacrifice that Nigeria and Nigerians made to liberate it from over

    600 years of apartheid, oppression and suppression, the killing of our people is their own ungodly way of paying us back.

  • Our moments of horror in South Africa’s xenophobic attacks —Nigerian victims

    For more than one week now, South Africa, the former apartheid enclave popularly called the Rainbow Nation, has been caught in an orgy of violence. On a daily basis, terror has been unleashed on the foreign nationals in the country, particularly Nigerians. The social media are awash with video clips of defenseless individuals being beaten or burnt to death by petrol, matches and weapons-wielding South Africans youths.

    On account of the conflicting reports as to the cause of the latest unrest and why the South Africans are targeting foreign nationals in the country, our correspondent got across to some Nigerians resident in South Africa and they narrated their horrible experiences in different interviews.

    Genesis of the crisis

    One of the Nigerian victims, Julius Osas, a resident of Sunnyside in Pretoria, close to the place where the current xenophobic attacks was triggered, said he has lived in South Africa for 10 years.

    Narrating how it all began, he said: “Someone was actually killed, and where it happened is not far from where I stay. The problem began in Pretoria Central Business District (CBD). It was an issue between some South African taxi drivers and some Tanzanian street urchins who were peddling drug.

    “They (Tanzanians) peddle a drug called Nyaope. That is the local name. It is a cheap but very dangerous drug. Street boys use the drug. They use syringe and needle to draw some blood from their body. Then they would mix Nyaope with the blood they have drawn out and inject it back into their body. I have not used it before, but I know it is very dangerous.

    “When they have injected the drug back into their system and it starts working, they start to behave in a certain way. When they talk to you, they talk so slowly that they look like imbeciles. Even when they are on their feet, they will be sleeping.

    “The drug is cheap and Tanzanian guys are the peddlers. I don’t know where or how it is manufactured, but it is Tanzanians who deal in the drug. It has nothing to do with Nigerians. I have been here in South Africa for 10 years and I know it is Tanzanians that deal in that type of drug.

    “They sell the stuff at Brown Street, a very popular street in Pretoria CBD. That is where they usually converge. We call them Nyaope Boys. They sell mostly to South African urchins and street boys. And those urchins, when they jam you on the road at night, they rob and maul you. They are very dangerous, so people don’t want to come across them at night.

    “Now, on that fateful Tuesday afternoon on August 27, some South African taxi drivers challenged some of the Tanzanian drug peddlers on Brown Street. Apparently, they had been having issues. The place is close to the taxi drivers’ mini park. There were also some South African policemen around when the trouble began.

    “In no time, the quarrel between the Tanzanian drug peddlers and the taxi drivers escalated into a scuffle while the policemen at the spot tried to calm the situation. Suddenly, one of the Nyaope Boys grabbed the service pistol of one of the policemen and shot one of the taxi drivers dead.  The drug peddlers escaped from the scene and the mob that gathered started shouting that they were Nigerians. That was the genesis of the whole problem.

    “That afternoon, the chaos turned into violence. The aggrieved taxi drivers hijacked some trucks, blocked the road with them and started fighting all the foreigners they came across. That was the genesis of the latest attacks.”

    Osas said they had thought that the crisis had ended as the day drew to an end. Surprisingly, the crisis continued the following morning as South Africans insisted that the culprits were Nigerians and vowed to go round killing Nigerians and other foreigners and destroying their shops and property.

    He said: “The next day, some jobless South African youths hijacked the protest from the taxi drivers. They started looting, burning and vandalizing shops owned by foreigners.

    “Later, members of the South African Police Force (SAPF) were drafted to calm the situation, but by then, it had got out of hand.

    “The taxi drivers said they did not loot any shop; that the looting was the handiwork of hoodlums. They said they were just trying to voice out their anger over the killing of one of their members.

    “The next day being Thursday (August 29), they came to Sunnyside ostensibly to attack the drug dealers in Sunnyside. It is not far from where I stay. I saw everything live. A lot of Nigerians and other foreign nationals live there. Here in Sunnyside, we have the highest number of foreign nationals in Pretoria.”

    ‘How we survived the attacks’

    Osas said Sunnyside is most inhabited by foreigners, hence they were able to mobilise themselves to save their lives and property.

    He said: “The foreign nationals around Sunnyside were aware of the incident at Pretoria CBD, and I must be honest with you, these South African taxi drivers are very dangerous. Even the government cannot contain them when they go on the rampage.

    “Once we heard some of them saying it was a Nigerian that killed their member and that they were coming to Sunnyside, everyone was on the alert. When the taxi drivers came, they stood in front of a tall building opposite Excellence Street.

    “The police were also aware, so a lot of them trooped to the place to stop them from entering Sunnyside. They just stood opposite the building and were singing, shouting and chanting. They said the tall building was drug dealers’ hive. The police searched the building, but I think they only found some marijuana but they could not identify the owner.

    “At that point, the foreigners on Excellence Street gathered and were ready to defend themselves. They knew that the taxi drivers would be coming to break into shops just like they did in Pretoria CBD.

    “Majority of the shops in Sunnyside are owned and run by foreigners—Nigerians, Ghanaians, Cameroonians, Congolese and so on. For them to prevent what happened at Pretoria CBD, they all came out en mass, ready to fight to secure their lives, properties and businesses, but the police intervened and stopped what would have been a deadly clash.”

    Osas explained that most of the destructions done by the rampaging South Africans occurred in Pretoria CBD. “The major destruction and looting started there at Pretoria CBD. They burnt and looted shops. Any shop or business place owned by foreigners were targeted and destroyed,” he said.

    He, however, said that things were gradually returning to normal as he had started going to work.

    He said: “I go to work despite the fact that there were messages all over the social media where they were threatening that they were coming for us in Sunnyside. We’ve been receiving messages from the taxi drivers that they were coming to attack us.

    “You know, the taxi drivers, whenever they want to do something, it is always bloody. Those guys always have guns with them, even when they are driving their taxis. Everyone is afraid of them. Nobody wants to get on their bad side. But Nigerians here insist that they do not know anything about the killing of one of them; that it was between them and the Tanzanians. But you know in South Africa, because of their past experience with Nigerians, anything that happens between them and any foreigner, they blame it on Nigerians.

    “For now, due to foreign intervention, the whole situation is calming down. The South African president addressed the nation, calling for peace. I think the African Union (AU) has also intervened, although we saw some videos today of lootings by South Africans. They take advantage of any unrest to loot.”

    Another Nigerian victim, who did not want his name in print for security reasons, said: “They knew that the killing was not committed by Nigerians. They just seized the opportunity to damage a lot of things, burn Nigerians’ shops for nothing.

    “Ironically, these Tanzanian guys do not have shops. They stay on the streets. Look at what they have caused Nigerians because of hatred. Even if you are nursing hatred, it should be against somebody you know has done you wrong.

    “Even today (Thursday), I had discussions with some of the taxi drivers. They said they know it was not Nigerians but those guys were stupid. I spoke with them one on one. They said they were so sorry about the destructions. They are regretting their actions.

    “I told them if you know whoever offended you, why not go and sort it out with the person? Why involving Nigerians? Any Nigerian who misbehaves, give it back to them. They were begging, saying that they were sorry. God of justice will judge everybody. We leave everything in God’s hands.”

    Another Nigerian victim, who identified himself simply as Dele, said his electronics shop was looted in Pretoria Central Business District.

    Narrating his experience and explaining why it would be difficult for many Nigerians to leave the country, he said: “I was attacked on Tuesday, August 27. They took my phones, wallet and car keys. They really wanted to kill me but I managed to escape.

    “Once any bad thing happens here in South Africa, the first country they mention is Nigeria. They said a Nigerian killed a South African taxi driver, which is not true. It was not a Nigerian that did it, but they took advantage of that to burn and loot foreigners’ shops, especially the ones owned by Nigerians.

    “I have a shop in area known as Xisulu, formerly Princelow. That is the name of the street.  Since I came to South Africa, that is the business I have been doing. Even back home in Nigeria, that was the business I was doing. I am into electronics.

    “I used to have a shop at Alaba International Market. It is the same business I am doing in Pretoria here. It took me close to 10 years to build that business to what it is now.”

    Asked to estimate he lost, Dele said: “If I have to put a value to my loss, plus or minus, it will be almost 650,000 rand (about N16.5 million).”

    Asked about the response of the Nigerian embassy in South Africa, he said: “I was at the Nigerian embassy on August 29 and even yesterday (Thursday). We were supposed to have a meeting with them but they said the Nigerian ambassador was not around.

    “After the first meeting, they said we should come today (September 5). That was what we agreed. When the ambassador returns, we will know if we would get any compensation. We don’t know yet.”

    Dele also gave reason why Nigerians continue to stay in South Africa.

    He said: “To me, what I can say is that people have been living here for years. They have businesses here. It is very difficult to just leave.

    “Some of us have families here. Some Nigerians are married to South African women and they have families. That is a major problem. Are you going to leave your wife and children and go back home? You have to stay with your family. That is the major issue.

    “I can equally say that the infrastructure here in South Africa, we can never compare it to Nigeria in terms of infrastructure. I can say that somebody staying in South Africa and maybe renting a room is almost like someone staying in Ikoyi or Victoria Island in Lagos. They have access to same infrastructure—good road network, water, electricity, hospital and things like that. These are the things that make most Nigerians not to want to return.”

  • NIPR condemns attacks on Nigerians, South Africans

    THE Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) on Thursday condemned the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other nationals in South Africa.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja, NIPR President, Alhaji Mukhtar Sirajo, described the attacks as unjustifiable, callous and a betrayal of the spirit of oneness of Africa.

    He lamented the fact that the attacks came from a people for whom and by whom the entire continent stood not very long ago, during their hour of need.

    Sirajo further described xenophobia as a crime against humanity, especially as it runs contrary to the universal values of sanctity of human life, freedom of movement, mutual respect, open engagement, communication and effective relationship management.

    He commended the Federal Government for the measures it has taken so far in that regard while he called on the government to step up its response to the menace.

    Read Also: Nigeria considers legal option against South Africa

    “Those few involved in dubious activities must desist from such criminal tendencies that could further dent the image of the nation and bring grief to their families when they are caught,” he noted.

    The NIPR boss also appealed to the South African authorities to be more forthcoming in the handling of the issue, apprehending and meting out appropriate sanctions against those found guilty to serve as a deterrent to others.

    He said: “The NIPR is worried, like all Nigerians and other right thinking people across the world, at these recurring attacks being perpetrated against Nigerians and other nationals of other African countries in South Africa.

    “These recurring attacks, which have claimed many lives and destroyed valuable properties, are now sadly being met with many reprisals in other African countries including Nigeria. Xenophobia is a menace. Our world must find a solution to or it will become the albatross of our age.”