Xenophobia: FG demands compensation for Nigerians’ abandoned businesses in South Africa

The Federal Government has vowed to press South Africa for compensation over businesses, vehicles and properties abandoned by Nigerians returning home under its voluntary evacuation programme.

Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, said the evacuation of Nigerians would not end with flying them back home, insisting that the government would pursue the value of assets and investments they were forced to leave behind.

Ajayi spoke on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, as another batch of Nigerians was expected to arrive in Lagos aboard an evacuation flight organised by the Federal Government.

He said many of the returnees voluntarily opted to come back to Nigeria ahead of planned anti-immigrant protests in South Africa.

According to him, the Nigerian mission has already asked affected citizens to accurately document their businesses, shops, cars and other movable and immovable properties before leaving South Africa.

Ajayi said the records would be presented to the South African government as part of efforts to secure possible compensation for Nigerians who had built businesses and investments over the years.

“In terms of the businesses, just three days ago, myself and the South African Deputy Minister of Finance were together, and we were discussing this,” Ajayi said.

“I took up the discussion with her, and we have agreed that we are going to ask our people who are returning to begin to document what they are leaving behind, and that was the message yesterday before this set that is due to land in Lagos.

“I have asked them before they left yesterday to document very accurately those things they were leaving behind in terms of businesses, in terms of even cars, movable and immovable properties.

“We can now take it up with the South African government. That is the next step we are going to take.”

The envoy said Nigeria would not allow the labour and investments of its citizens in South Africa to be lost or taken over without diplomatic follow-up.

He stressed that the Federal Government would work with South African authorities to trace the affected businesses and properties before making a formal case for compensation.

“This repatriation will not end with just taking people to Nigeria,” Ajayi said.

“We are going to systematically follow up on the information given to us, and I told them to be very accurate with what they are going to give because we are going to work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops and properties and present them to the South African government for possible compensation.

“We will not allow the labour people have suffered to build over the years to just go down the drain or be taken over by people.”

Ajayi also dismissed claims that most Nigerians living in South Africa were undocumented.

He said many of them entered the country legally but became trapped in delays caused by South Africa’s immigration renewal system.

According to him, the South African Home Office had been unable to process a huge number of applications in the last three to four years, leaving many foreign nationals, including Nigerians, with expired or delayed documents.

“In the last three or four years, there has been a deluge of applications at the South African Home Office which were not attended to due to systemic issues,” he said.

“So, because of this, many, not only Nigerian nationals, were caught in this web of delay, so you cannot rightly claim that these were undocumented because most of them came to the country legally in terms of how somebody should migrate.

“So, it is on the basis of now wanting to renew their papers and get them when one expires that they were caught up in the unnecessary delays.”

Ajayi said some Nigerians had waited for years for their papers to be processed, making it unfair to label them as illegal migrants.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an aircraft operated by Air Peace departed Nigeria on Monday and was expected to return to Lagos on Tuesday morning with another batch of Nigerians who opted for voluntary evacuation.

The evacuation comes as anti-immigration groups in South Africa prepare to stage demonstrations from June 30, prompting the Nigerian government to intensify efforts to assist citizens willing to return home.

Former Nigerian ambassador to Switzerland, Joseph Ayalogu, also backed calls for compensation for Nigerians whose businesses and livelihoods have been affected in South Africa.

Speaking on the same programme, Ayalogu condemned repeated attacks on foreign-owned businesses and urged Nigeria and other African countries to take a firmer diplomatic position with Pretoria.

He said the South African government must enforce its laws, protect migrants and consider compensation for people whose investments had been destroyed, abandoned or taken over.

“It’s unfortunate that they are targeting people’s businesses,” Ayalogu said.

He added that African governments must insist that South Africa protect foreign nationals and their investments from recurring xenophobic hostility.