SOUTH AFRICA AND THE VIOLENT MOB

The authorities in South Africa must be held to account

Like previous xenophobic attacks that now define South Africa, Nigerians are among the nationals of countries that are always targeted by their unemployed nationals (including those with neither education nor skills). Considering that their nationals also do businesses and are allowed to move freely in our country without let or hindrance, the federal government must make it clear to their authorities that they bear responsibility for the lives of Nigerians who reside in South Africa.

The statement by the Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode that more than 100 Nigerians have been killed in Xenophobic attacks in the last four years, with 30 of them masterminded by the South African police and defence force, should compel action. Among the most recent incidents were the murder of Bishop Michael Taiwo by some gunmen in Johannesburg, and the killing of Mr James Uchechukwu Nwankwo by officers of the South African Police Service. What is most disturbing, according to Fani-Kayode, is that despite reports made to their authorities, “not one person has been arrested, detained, prosecuted or brought to justice for ANY of these heinous crimes.”

The federal government must acknowledge that diplomatic niceties have failed, especially when another deadline has been issued to foreign nationals from the continent, including Nigerians, to leave South Africa by 30 September. This deadline, according to Fani-Kayode, like the last one, was issued by a number of xenophobic and Afrophobic South African non-governmental organisations who threatened to harm our nationals if their illegal deadline is not obeyed. The High Commissioner has called on the South African Government to protect Nigerians “from the excesses of these racist organisations and their misguided members, and to apply the full weight of the law against them for their lawless behaviour.”

It is unfortunate that polite condemnations and routine assurances have not stemmed the tide of Afrophobic attacks in South Africa. If anything, the situation seems to have deteriorated. As a leading voice on the continent, Nigeria has both a moral duty and a strategic interest in taking decisive action. It must spearhead a firm and coordinated response that leaves the government of Cyril Ramaphosa in no doubt about the consequences of continued inaction. South Africa must be made to understand that the victimisation of Nigerians and other Africans is unacceptable, and that the killings, expulsions and wanton destruction of legitimate businesses must stop.

African migrants are not the architects of inequality in South Africa; they are, in many cases, fellow victims. The targeting of black foreigners is therefore not only morally indefensible but intellectually dishonest—a tragic expression of ignorance and misdirected anger. Even more troubling is the extent to which Afrophobia has seeped into South Africa’s political discourse. It is not merely fringe sentiment; it is too often legitimised, amplified, or tolerated by influential voices within and outside government. This normalisation of hostility has emboldened perpetrators and created an environment in which violence becomes cyclical and predictable.

The current attacks are as horrifying as they are revealing. Mobs have stormed public hospitals, ordering patients, including pregnant women from other African countries, out of wards as though they were less than human. Businesses owned by foreign nationals have been looted and set ablaze. On the streets, men and women are harassed, beaten, and hunted. There are chilling reports of victims being killed even as they begged for their lives. With another deadline for terror already announced, the federal government should make it clear to President Ramaphosa that it is also in the interest of his country to protect Nigerians from what has become perpetual hate mongering from the violent South African mob.