Foreign News
Xenophobic: ‘We’ve Drawn The Red Line Against South Africa’
- Says It’s Unacceptable, Enough Is Enough
- Asks Nigerians Not to Retaliate
By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
Nigerian Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama has warned the South African government against any form of xenophobic attacks on Nigerian citizens in the south coast country.
The minister also confirmed that Nigeria has boycotted the World Economic Forum scheduled for South Africa taking place on September 4-6.
Onyeama gave the warning on Wesnesday while speaking to State House correspondents after he met with President Muhammadu Bubari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said that President Buhari agreed with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo not to go to South Africa under the climate of xenophobic attacks.
The minister stressed that red line has been drawn against South Africa, warning ”enough is enough. We can’t allow any of our city to be killed in South Africa and we demand full compensation for their properties destroyed in South Africa.”
He said that recalling of Nigerian ambassador to South Africa, was one of the options the government would use in resolving the issue.
He added that the final decision will be taken after the report of the special envoy sent to South Africa.
The minister while giving an update on the xenophobic attacks said: “We have made it clear that what has happened in South Africa is totally unacceptable.
”We will not accept it and as I said earlier, enough is enough and we are not going to come back to this, we are going to address it once and for all.
”This is the position of government that we are going to draw a redline here. Whatever measures that needs to be taken to ensure the safety of Nigerians in South Africa, we will take.
“We have been in touch with the South African government at the very highest level with the President of South Africa as to what we want to achieve. The special envoy has very clear directives about the commitment and the guarantees that we expect from the South African government.
”Of course, a lot of things have been circulating in the social media which have not helped matters. Some of them have really distorted the situation and because of that have impacted our response.
”So, number one is that the information we have from the High Commission, from the Consul General in South Africa is that no Nigerian life has been lost during this crisis. And I think that is very important because on social media, there is a lot of stories going around of Nigerians being killed, jumping off buildings and being burnt. This is not the case.
”What we know is that premises, shops of Nigerians have been looted and property destroyed.
Confirming the withdrawal of Nigeria’s participation in the World Economic Forum in South Africa, he said that the Vice President was scheduled to go to South Africa tomorrow (Thursday) to attend the World Economic Forum, ”clearly with this climate, he and Mr. President have agreed that he should not go to the World Economic Forum in Cape town and we are looking at other measures to take.”
He said that Mr. President was particularly disturbed at the act of vandalism that has taken place here in Nigeria, in retaliation of what is happening in South Africa.
Onyeama stressed that the government believes that they have to take the moral high ground on this matter.
”We are victims here and have made that position clear to the international community and to the South African government. We here in Nigeria must not fall into the temptation of also resorting to the acts that we are condemning in others.
”Mr. President has pleaded and he is likely to make a statement on this, addressing the Nigerian people to please desist from acts of vandalism and aggression, destroying properties.”
The Federal govgovern appealed to Nigerians back home to remain calm, warning against taking attacking south African businesses in Nigeria.
He said that ”these businesses- Shoprite, MTN and others, yes there are South African but these are subsidiaries in Nigeria owned by Nigerians. So, as attacks are made against Shoprite and other such institutions, it is actually the property owned by Nigerians within Nigeria and the people working there are Nigerians.”
”So the people that will suffer from those acts of vandalism and aggression are not South Africans or anyone else but Nigerians. But morally, it is wrong not even because of who will suffer and not suffer.
Mr. President is appealing to Nigerians, the government is acting, we cannot state everything, our everything in public domain with regards to what we are doing obviously, but we want to assure all Nigerians that this government is determined that the redline has been drawn and we will not give in on this occasion and that the South African government has to assumed its responsibilities and do the right thing. Protect Nigerians and other Africans I might say in South Africa and we have to hold them to count. Full compensation has to be paid because as we have discovered from previous experience, a lot of these Nigerians loss their property and it is a long drawn out process and every often are not compensated for it. But on this occasion, the Nigerian government is going to fight for full compensation and hold the government of South Africa to count. And we are going to consider other options to ensure that the message gets across to the government of South Africa.
It is not a question of weakness or anything of the sort but we have to move decisively and that is precisely what the government is going to do.
We have all the options on the table and on the return of the special envoy, we will all sit down and look at all the options and assess the report.
And there is no measure that we consider to be appropriate that we will shrink from taking. We will take whatever and all measures necessary to ensure that never again are we going back to this whole issue of Nigerians being attacked and properties destroyed and in some cases killed in South Africa.
It is an ongoing story, we will keep you informed but the important message is that Mr. President is fully engaged in this process, he is being briefed on an hourly basis and we are not going to shrink from taking all the necessary steps to make it the last time this kind of thing will happen.”
Asked to disclose the identity of the envoy and measures being taken to protect Nigerians, Onyeama said: “the identify of the special envoy will be revealed in due course. There are certain reasons why we don’t want to do so immediately.
“On measures being taken, of course the security agencies are fully aware of the threats that are now existing to various businesses in Nigeria at the moment and they are fully mobilized to address that.”
On if the bone of contention has been established, he said: our basic premise is this, there is no justification whatsoever for individuals or coming as a group to take the laws into their own hands and to target Nigerians. This is totally unacceptable.
He added: ”It is important to note that there is now an African consensus building around this, it is totally abhorrent and unacceptable that there should be xenophobia against Africans on African soil, not to talk about what a Nigeria has done for South Africa, even everybody knows that during the years of apartheid but nevertheless we understand that the president of Rwanda will not attend the world economic forum, the president of Democratic Republic of Congo, the president of Malawi, the Zambian football team that were supposed to play in South Africa also stepped down that match and is not going ahead with it. And so is the African Union, the president of the African Union has also come out with a statement condemning what is happening in South Africa. A large number of victims are Nigerians and we will not tolerate it.”
On why the Nigerian High commissioner has been recalled when the envoy was on his way to South Africa, he said: “No. it is one of the options we are considering. He will need to come back but we feel he should come back after the envoy has gone there, so that Mr. President will also have the benefits of the full and comprehensive brief from all the individuals who are the position to have seen things at a close range.”
The parliament in Ghana has approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.
It proposes that identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer be punished by up to three years’ imprisonment.
The bill also introduces a “Duty to report” prohibited acts to police.Religious leaders have pressured President John Dramani Mahama, who still needs to ratify the legislation, to strengthen anti-gay laws since he came to power last year.
The ban has been sharply criticised by international organisations, including Human Rights Watch, which said it placed LGBTQ+ peoples’ lives at risk while also “encouraging citizens to surveil and denounce one another”.
Same-sex relationships have been banned in Ghana under laws dating from the British colonial era.
In an address to parliament, the bill’s sponsor Reverend John Ntim Fordjour said it would protect Ghanaian family and cultural values.
He said the new bans would make existing laws “more robust, more encompassing and more stringent in dealing with the practices of LGBTQI”.
Anyone who identifies as an “ally”, a general term for a supporter of LGBTQ+ people, could also face a prison sentence.
Exemptions were included for legal, media and healthcare professionals who report on LGBTQ+ issues or provide medical treatment or other services for gay people.
Human Rights Watch recommended the bill be abandoned in a formal submission to the constitutional and legal affairs committee scrutinising the legislation in the capital, Accra.
Ghana passed a similar bill in 2024 but it did not become law after former President Akufo-Addo failed to sign it amid legal challenges.
The current President Mahama has indicated he would support the bill’s passage, saying shortly after he took office that “I believe in the principles and values that only two genders exist – man and woman – and that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Several African countries have cracked down on LGBTQ+ rights in recent years.
Senegal’s parliament approved similar legislation in March prescribing a maximum prison term of 10 years for sexual acts by same-sex couples and criminalising the ”promotion” of homosexuality.
Uganda introduced a death penalty for certain same-sex acts in 2023.
Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle has demanded more work from his players despite the impressive victory over Zimbabwe.
Nigeria defeated the Warriors 2-0 in the semi-final of the Unity Cup at the Valley on Tuesday night.
Femi Azeez emerged the hero for the Super Eagles, scoring twice to guide the three-time African champions into the final, where they will face either Jamaica or Iran.
The 24-year-old who plays for Millwall FC in the English Championship, swiftly put the Super Eagles in the lead after only five minutes, when he finished off a great team move with a left-footed rocket that Zimbabwe goalkeeper Future Sibanda could not stop.
Alhassan Yusuf, Tochukwu Nnadi and Philip Otele all came close to increasing Nigeria’s lead afterwards.
Azeez netted his and Nigeria’s second of the night in the 62nd minute after beating Sibanda in the box following another swift team move, with Otele finding Terem Moffi who then located the Millwall man in the vital area.
Moffi also set up Azeez for the opening goal.
Chelle is expecting a better performance from his players in the final.
“This is only a friendly game. This is not the World Cup qualifier. They need to work hard,” Chelle said at his post-match interview after the game at The Valley in London.
“They need to try to understand what I want, what the technical staff want and the high level is difficult.
“So you see, we made some mistakes with the ball. For sure, you see tomorrow we will work out during training,” he said.
In Saturday’s final at the Valley, the Super Eagles will take on the winner of Wednesday’s second semi-final between last year’s runners-up Jamaica and India.
Ghana has welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s apology for the Catholic Church’s historic role in slavery, describing it as an “act of moral courage” that was important in the global pursuit of “truth, human dignity and justice”.
The Pope issued the clearest apology yet for the Church’s involvement in legitimising slavery and its delay in condemning it for centuries.
The apology was published on Monday in the Pope’s first major teaching document of his papacy, which also focused on the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI).
Ghana was a major hub for the transatlantic slave trade when millions of people were captured and loaded on to ships, never to return home.
Between the 16th and 19th Centuries, 12-15 million Africans were shipped to the Caribbean, with about two million dying during the journey.
Ghana has long been a leading efforts for compensation and apologies from Western nations for the slave trade.
The West African nation’s government said the Pope’s recognition of the painful past was an important step towards healing, reconciliation and a just society.
”[The apology] reinforces the growing global understanding that confronting historical injustices demands truth-telling and moral responsibility as essential foundations for justice and reconciliation,” its statement, released late on Tuesday, said.
The Pope’s apology was delivered in what is known as an encyclical – technically a letter to Catholic bishops, but which over recent decades have been how a pontiff passes on messages to the world.
In the papal letter – titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”) – Pope Leo sincerely asked for pardon in the name of the Church, adding that it was “impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many”.
Leo said Church authorities had at times responded to requests of rulers by “regulating and legitimising forms of subjugation, including the enslavement of [non-Christians]”.
He also acknowledged that earlier in the Middle Ages, ecclesiastical institutions had their own slaves.
“This constitutes a wound in Christian memory,” he said of the Church’s record.
In April, Pope Leo completed a 11-day, four-nation of Africa – his first visit to the continent as pontiff – and where he made several forthright remarks including lashing out at foreigners who exploit Africa’s wealth for profit.
Ghana said the Pope’s acknowledgment of the “painful history” was significant, at a time the world was having a “deeper reflection” on the effects of slavery and colonialism.
The country successfully pushed for a UN resolution in March, which recognised the enslavement of Africans as the “gravest crime against humanity”.
Submitted by Ghana’s President John Mahama and backed by the African Union, it aims to provide a pathway to healing and the payment of reparations.
It also seeks to address the enduring consequences of slavery like inequality and racial discrimination.
Ghana, which still has some of the forts that were used for holding captives under inhuman conditions as they waited to be shipped to the Americas by European powers, is due to host a conference in June to discuss the next steps following the adoption of the UN resolution.
On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said the Pope’s apology marked an important step, but stressed apologies alone were not enough and that real reparative justice needed to go further.
Religious institutions, along with states and corporations that benefited from slavery, should “reckon seriously” with their histories and take part in reparative efforts, the rights group added.
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