The Federal Government has stated that any retaliatory action Nigeria may consider against South Africa over the continued hara$sment and attacks on Nigerians and other African migrants falls within the constitutional responsibilities of the National Assembly.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, made the statement during an interview on TVC, explaining that while the executive arm of government is currently engaging South African authorities through diplomatic channels, lawmakers may be required to step in if the situation persists. According to her, “The lawmakers have a role to play in this.”
She noted that Nigeria has exercised restraint despite increasing concerns over the treatment of Nigerians residing in South Africa. “When it comes to situations like this, of course, it is necessary to be temperate and exercise caution,” she said.
“But when your citizens are being harassed, when your citizens are people who have spent years there, and mind you, some of them are married to South Africans and have children who have known no other home but South Africa, then it becomes a serious concern.”
The minister further alleged that some Nigerians, including those married to South Africans, are being pressured to leave the country.
“Under these circumstances, they are asking not just Nigerians, but also their South African spouses and their children, to leave South Africa,” she said.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu contrasted the treatment Nigerians receive in South Africa with the business environment enjoyed by South African companies operating in Nigeria.
“There are over 120 South African companies operating in Nigeria. Nobody is asking them to provide proof of identity. Nobody is asking South African staff working there whether they are South Africans or Nigerians, and nobody is taking over their shops or businesses. But this is happening to Nigerians in South Africa. So, I think that at some point, we really have to review the options available to us.”
She cited major South African firms with operations in Nigeria, including MTN, MultiChoice, Stanbic and Protea, while warning that the continued attacks on migrants are damaging South Africa’s reputation globally.
“It is causing reputational damage, and that is quite sad because the late Madiba, Nelson Mandela, God rest his soul, worked so hard to project South Africa as a bastion of Pan-Africanism,” she said. “And in one fell swoop, these anti-migrant vigilante groups have destroyed what this man sacrificed 28 years in prison for.”
She added that the effects of the attacks are already becoming evident internationally.
“Even within South Africa itself, people are cancelling concerts, and conferences are being called off. South Africa has been stained with the stigma of being a xenophobic country. This is not something I think they will be comfortable with in the long run.”