Xenophobia: Nigeria Gives South Africa 24hours Ultimatum. Threatens Action

Nigerian protesters on Monday besieged the
South African high commission in Abuja to
demand an end to xenophobic attacks on
foreigners in South Africa. Numbering
about 500, the protesters gave South Africa
24 hours to stop the killings or face the
wrath of Nigerians.
“If Nigeria is pushed to the wall, it will bite,”
one of them said. Speaking with TheCable,
Deji Adeyanju, coordinator of the protest,
argued against retaliation by Nigerians, but
urged the South African government to
stop the killings forthwith. “We want a
situation in which the South African
government will take decisive action against
the killings,” he said.
“The businesses of Nigerians are being
threatened and it seems South Africans are
celebrating now that foreigners are leaving.
We will not retaliate. “We want to use this
protest to tell South Africa we are their
friends. We stood by them during the
apartheid era. However, we feel South
African government is supporting the
killings. We don’t want South Africans to be
attacked.”
However, another leader of the protest,
Tolu Ebun, disagreed with Adeyanju, saying
“If Nigeria is pushed to the wall it can bite,”
and added “We give South Africa 24 hours
to stop the killings or…” Adewale Fawe, a
protester, restated Ebun’s position, saying
“We can retaliate. South Africa cannot bear
the weight of Nigeria.”
The atmosphere was charged as protesters
took turns to ventilate their opinions. Even
the presence of the representative of the
South African high commissioner, Thembe
Sosonwan smouldered nationalist feelings
among the protesters who sang the
national anthem loudly. Addressing the
protesters, Sosonwan assured them of his
government’s commitment to ending the
bloodshed. “We South Africans are proud
of our Nigerians brothers and sisters,” he
said.
“These things that are happening in South
Africa are not acceptable. We assure you
that the South African government is
committed to bringing these things to a
close.” According to reports, the
xenophobic attacks in South Africa have
cost Nigerians resident in the country about
N21 million. The first Nigerian to be attacked
was a mechanic, whose workshop with 10
cars and all the tools inside was destroyed
by some South Africans on Friday. The
Nigerian government has said it will
evacuate its citizens from the country if the
attacks persist. There are about 800, 000
Nigerians living in South Africa.