By Kalu Obasi Benjamin
Nigeria’s House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the financial and human toll of recurring xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa.
Following a motion introduced by lawmaker Babajimi Benson, the House directed its committees to carry out a comprehensive assessment of lives lost, properties destroyed, and business damages suffered by Nigerian citizens over the past two decades.
The lawmakers are pushing for formal compensation for victims while urging the federal government to deploy stronger diplomatic measures to ensure the safety of Nigerians abroad.
Highlighting the irony of the situation, Rep. Benson reminded the assembly of Nigeria’s immense financial, political, and strategic contributions to South Africa’s historic anti-apartheid struggle.
Despite these deep historical ties, lawful Nigerian residents have repeatedly faced target mob violence, arson, looting, and displacement during major xenophobic outbreaks in 2008, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. He warned that hostility continues to brew due to dangerous anti-foreigner campaigns led by vigilante groups like Operation Dudula.
Meanwhile, the President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa (NICASA), Frank Onyekwelu, revealed that South African communities are now facing severe economic fallout from forcing out foreign entrepreneurs.
Speaking on Channels Television, Onyekwelu explained that the closure of foreign-owned shops has drastically slowed down local cash flow, crippled commercial centers, and left local residents unable to access affordable basic goods nearby, leading many locals to now beg foreign business owners to return.
Despite these economic lessons, physical threats against Nigerians remain dangerously high across South Africa’s nine provinces. Onyekwelu disclosed that NICASA receives daily reports of ongoing attacks, intimidation, and arson—citing a recent incident where a Nigerian-owned mechanic workshop was torched, destroying over 25 vehicles. He emphasized that thousands of law-abiding Nigerians have lost their life savings, homes, and livelihood simply due to collective punishment and xenophobic profiling.
To prepare for legal redress and diplomatic claims, the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg and the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria have advised all affected victims to register their documented losses.
Demanding an end to the systemic hostility, Onyekwelu stressed that nationality should never be equated with criminality, reiterating that law-abiding migrants who contribute to the local economy deserve protection rather than persecution.
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