ABUJA — The Federal Government has demanded urgent and concrete action to end Afrophobic attacks in South Africa, saying about 90 Nigerians have been killed in such violence since June 2022.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, made the demand on Tuesday at a virtual roundtable on “South Africa’s Xenophobia in Comparative Perspective”, convened by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).
Enikanolaiye said Nigeria viewed the attacks as a serious continental challenge requiring stronger migration governance, responsible political leadership and deeper people-to-people relations across Africa.
He described the violence as having “a particularly African, post-colonial and post-apartheid character,” arguing that Afrophobia was a more accurate description of attacks targeting Africans from other countries.
The minister expressed concern over the loss of Nigerian lives and said fresh attacks and displacement had also been recorded in 2026.
He said the violence was particularly troubling given Nigeria’s historic support for South Africa during the struggle against apartheid.
“The relationship between Nigeria and South Africa is not reducible to trade statistics or diplomatic communiqués. There is history in that relationship. There is blood, sacrifice and solidarity in that history,” Enikanolaiye said.
He disclosed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had directed the NIIA to undertake a comprehensive study documenting Nigeria’s support for South Africa’s liberation struggle.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s contribution included financial commitments estimated at more than $60 billion, as well as the nationalisation of British Petroleum, scholarships and hospitality extended to South African leaders in Nigeria.
Enikanolaiye warned that continued Afrophobic violence could damage South Africa’s international reputation, undermine investor confidence, threaten regional integration and diminish the moral authority associated with its liberation struggle.
Nigeria urged South African authorities to strengthen migration systems that are transparent and humane while ensuring that immigration laws are enforced solely by state institutions.
The minister cautioned against vigilantism and urged political leaders to use responsible language, warning that rhetoric portraying migrants as “criminals” or “job thieves” could create conditions in which violence thrives.
He also called for public debate on migration to be based on facts and data rather than misinformation and unverified claims circulating on social media.
Nigeria further called for the full activation of existing Nigeria-South Africa early-warning and rapid-response mechanisms to identify and defuse tensions before they escalate.
Beyond government action, Enikanolaiye advocated stronger people-to-people diplomacy involving businesses, universities, religious and traditional institutions, youth groups, civil society organisations and the media.
He said these groups could help rebuild trust and promote a shared African identity.
The minister announced that Nigeria, together with Ghana, would present the issue at the next session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
While acknowledging South Africa’s willingness to discuss the “push and pull factors” associated with migration, Enikanolaiye said priority attention must be given to the hate-driven violence and attacks against African nationals.
He said Africa must move beyond mere tolerance towards a continent where Africans from different countries are treated with equal dignity.
“What Africa needs now is not mere tolerance but belonging to a continent where a Nigerian in Johannesburg and a South African in Lagos are regarded first as Africans with equal dignity,” he said.
The minister also reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to the welfare and protection of Nigerians abroad, citing the President’s direct intervention in the recent repatriation of Nigerians from South Africa.
He commended Nigeria’s Heads of Mission in Pretoria and Johannesburg, as well as other stakeholders, for ensuring that the repatriation exercise was carried out promptly.
Enikanolaiye said the Federal Government remained committed to working with South Africa, the African Union, ECOWAS and other partners to ensure that African integration is matched by practical solidarity and unity.
The intervention comes amid continuing concerns over attacks targeting foreign nationals in South Africa and their implications for relations between Africa’s two major economies.
