The Federal Government has intensified efforts to secure compensation for Nigerians affected by the recent wave of attacks in South Africa, while deepening diplomatic engagement to prevent a recurrence of the violence.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, disclosed this on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to the minister, the briefing followed President Tinubu’s directive to receive South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Special Envoy and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola.
Enikanolaiye said he updated the President on commitments made by the South African government, including the activation of an early warning mechanism and the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission to strengthen cooperation and address future incidents.
He also informed Tinubu that about 1,490 Nigerians had been evacuated from South Africa following the attacks.
The minister commended the President for providing resources for the evacuation exercise, adding that two of the evacuation flights were sponsored by private individuals.
While noting that many Nigerians had already returned home, Enikanolaiye said some citizens still wished to leave South Africa, stressing that the government was exploring additional funding to support further evacuation efforts.
He revealed that President Tinubu described the attacks as Afrophobic rather than simply xenophobic, emphasizing the need for African nations to work together to end such violence.
According to him, the President believes Africa must unite to halt the growing trend of attacks targeting fellow Africans.
Enikanolaiye added that Tinubu’s cordial relationship with President Ramaphosa would be leveraged to strengthen diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
On compensation for victims, the minister said the government had begun collecting data from Nigerians who lost property during the attacks.
He explained that affected Nigerians would be required to complete forms detailing their losses to enable the government determine the extent of damages before presenting compensation claims to South Africa.
The minister stressed that Nigeria would continue to pursue dialogue and negotiations with South Africa but would not rule out other options if diplomatic efforts failed.
He maintained that every Nigerian, regardless of immigration status, deserved protection and should not be subjected to violence.
According to Enikanolaiye, all individuals have the right to life and should be treated in accordance with the law, irrespective of whether they are documented or undocumented migrants.
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