By Our Correspondent
The Federal Government on Monday signalled that retaliatory measures against South Africa remain a possibility as it condemned the continued harassment, intimidation and looting targeting Nigerians in the country.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, said Nigeria was deeply disappointed by the response of South African authorities and security agencies to the attacks, even as the government activated emergency arrangements to evacuate distressed Nigerians.
Speaking with State House correspondents, Ojukwu dismissed suggestions by some South African officials that many of the affected Nigerians were undocumented migrants.
“To say that Nigerians who are in South Africa doing legitimate business are illegal migrants is absolutely untrue,” she said.
The minister said Nigerians were particularly aggrieved given the sacrifices Nigeria made in support of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle.
“Nigeria is not happy because Nigeria sacrificed much for the South African struggle for independence,” she said.
“Nigeria sacrificed quite a lot, committed funds and resources to aid South Africa. In schools, seats were reserved for South African students. My own generation carried placards and demonstrated in front of South African assets.
“Sometimes we even got arrested for doing this. Nigeria was a serious frontline state, and Nigerians are not happy about how they have been treated. They are not asking other migrants to leave; they are only asking black migrants to leave.”
Asked whether Nigeria could respond by reviewing the privileges enjoyed by South Africans in the country, Ojukwu said reciprocal action had not been ruled out.
“That is a situation we are considering. This is up to our legislature. It is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government, but it is not off the table,” she said.
On the planned repatriation of Nigerians from South Africa, the minister clarified that Monday’s timeline was meant for the completion of documentation and other formalities, rather than the commencement of evacuation flights.
“It wasn’t actually supposed to start today. It was just that we were supposed to have rounded off the formalities today,” she said.
“The repatriation is on course. Mr President himself has reiterated that this aircraft must come to South Africa, and our citizens who are imperilled will have the opportunity to board and be brought back to their country.”
She disclosed that the number of Nigerians seeking evacuation continued to rise as the security situation deteriorated.
“The figures keep increasing. There are several processes that have to be undertaken by South African Homeland Security.
“We ensure that we screen our citizens who want to return, and they are also part of the screening process. Once citizens are cleared, they are issued documentation indicating they are free to leave.
“Once this situation started getting worse, the President directed that a crisis response unit be immediately established within our consulate and at the Nigerian mission in Pretoria.
“We have people in different provinces, and some require assistance to reach the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg. We are working through all of that, but the documentation, which is the most important aspect of this process, has been completed.”
Ojukwu added that the evacuation exercise was being coordinated with relevant government agencies to ensure the proper reintegration of returnees.
“This evacuation is being undertaken with NEMA. We are working with various government agencies and parastatals to ensure that once they arrive, they can be rehabilitated,” she said.
