FG Moves to Secure Compensation for Nigerians Forced to Leave South Africa
The Federal Government says it is taking steps to recover compensation for Nigerians who abandoned businesses, vehicles and other valuable assets while fleeing renewed anti-foreigner violence in South Africa.
Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, disclosed that authorities have begun compiling records of properties left behind by evacuees as part of efforts to engage the South African government on possible compensation.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Ajayi said returnees had been directed to provide detailed information about the investments and belongings they could not recover before leaving the country.
According to him, the evacuation exercise goes beyond bringing stranded Nigerians home, stressing that the government also has a responsibility to protect the economic interests of its citizens who were forced to flee.
Ajayi dismissed claims that the majority of Nigerians living in South Africa were undocumented, explaining that many entered the country legally but later encountered prolonged delays in renewing their immigration papers.
Meanwhile, another batch of 271 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday aboard an Air Peace Boeing 777-200 aircraft under the Federal Government’s voluntary evacuation programme.
Several of the returnees described painful experiences of harassment, intimidation and xenophobic attacks, saying they abandoned businesses and personal possessions to escape with their lives.
One of the evacuees, Emmanuela, said growing hostility towards Nigerians had made life unbearable.
“They see Nigerians as hardworking people and feel threatened by our success. We were constantly told to leave or risk being killed. I had no choice but to abandon everything and return home,” she said.
She added that many Nigerians faced difficulties obtaining legal residency documents despite making the necessary applications.
Another returnee, Sandy Oris from Anambra State, said relocating to South Africa 14 years ago turned out to be the worst decision of his life after repeated attacks eventually wiped out his business.
“They destroyed my shop and carted away all my goods. I returned to Nigeria with absolutely nothing,” he said.
Oris appealed to the Federal Government to provide financial assistance for returnees struggling to rebuild their lives, insisting that many of the accusations directed at Nigerians in South Africa were driven by prejudice rather than facts.
