Xenophobic Attacks: Buhari to visit South Africa next month

Plans have commenced for President Muhammadu Buhari to travel to South Africa next month. The trip is tied to the raging attacks on Nigerians and other Africans in
Johannesburg and other South African cities, the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement said Nigeria would not condone attacks on its citizens by South Africans, describing the violence as an ‘anarchy’ and calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to act.

Kabiru Bala, the Nigerian high commissioner in South Africa, also said Nigerians should be confident of support from their country’s embassy and consulate in Pretoria and Johannesburg, respectively.

“All Nigerian victims of the current attacks are requested to come forward to report their situation to the high commission and the consulate,” Mr Bala said. “The two missions will continue to be home to all Nigerians in this trying times and in the future.”

The top Nigerian diplomat said Nigerian citizens will continue to receive support from their country’s representatives through the crisis.

The statement comes as Nigeria foreign minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, summoned the South African high commissioner in Abuja for talks about the latest targeting of Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa.

Several properties and businesses, including those of Nigerians, have been targeted in the latest attacks, which South African authorities said they were striving to contain.

Nigerians on social media have been growing increasingly impatient about Mr Buhari’s response to the crisis, with many urging him to take a more hardline approach and send a strong warning that his government would not tolerate wanton attacks on Nigerians anywhere.

Source: Premium Times