Xenophobia: 50 Nigerians affected in South African attack

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as provocative and completely unacceptable the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other foreign nationals in South Africa.
A number of migrants including Nigerians are believed to have been killed in a wave of xenophobic attacks in recent days by South Africans on foreigners, who they accused of snatching their jobs.
A statement issued by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, on Saturday, in Abuja, said the attacks were “outright barbaric, primitive and cannot be justified under any guise whatsoever,” adding that it was “unfortunate and disheartening that South Africans by this attitude have shown that they are not appreciative of the roles played by Nigeria and other African countries in liberating their nation from the clutches of the obnoxious apartheid system.”
Meanwhile, facts emerged, on Saturday, about the undercurrent of hatred and constant xenophobic attacks on black Africans in South Africa, as the attacks have been described as an “institutionalised crime aided by top South African government officials to deliberately obliterate and distort the contributions of some African countries to the liberation struggle of South Africa during apartheid.” A South Africa-based Nigerian media practitioner and Chief Executive Officer of Better Africa Communications and Consults, Mr Femi Oshin, disclosed this in a telephone interview with Sunday Tribune, yesterday, just as he said that many young South Africans were ignorant of the contributions of many African countries to the liberation struggle waged by the African National Congress (ANC) against white settlers in the country.According to him, “one of the major causes of xenophobia and Afrophobia in South Africa is the paucity of knowledge, in terms of Nigeria’s contribution and that of other African countries towards the dismantling of apartheid system in South Africa,” he noted.
Quoting the late foremost Kenyan political writer, Ali Mazrui, Oshin, who produces “Agogo Ayo”, a magazine programme for M-NET DSTV, South Africa,  said many South Africans saw many Africans who lived in their country as new colonialists, and that Nigerians were the most domineering among them, hence the constant attacks on them.
“According to Mazrui, South Africans see Nigerians who live in their country as new black colonialists, who have come to take out of their hard-earned resources, which they jostled for for many years.
“The attacks have been on for many years, and government officials in the country are fuelling it up so as to wipe off the claim that African countries contributed to the freedom of South Africa from the stranglehold of white colonialists,” he added.
The television producer/presenter disclosed that he was the victim of xenophobia in 2005 when South African police officers ambushed him on the street of Johannesburg and started beating him, though he didn’t commit any offence.
“Many Nigerians and other African nationals have been clobbered to death in broad daylight on the street by the South African police officers, not because they committed any offence, but because they just hate seeing them in their country.
“What is happening here is beyond what you hear in Nigeria or see online. Xenophobia or Afrophobia is an organised crime against black Africans, especially Nigerians. The fact is that they hate hearing that Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe or what have you helped them to secure freedom from oppression, and to end the claim, young and ignorant South Africans are often incited to foment trouble against black Africans.
“I have been here for years, and know them very well,” he said, noting that the poor attitude of the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa towards the welfare and complaints of Nigerian nationals in the country has further worsened the situation, as this has emboldened South Africans to “kill Nigerians at will.”
But the PDP called on the government of South Africa to take urgent steps to halt the attacks, saying: “whilst we are aware that this unfortunate incident is a fallout of incendiary utterances by certain leaders in South Africa, we call on the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and South African government to take urgent practical steps to stem the tide and guarantee the safety of lives and property of Nigerians and other nationals targeted by the xenophobes.”
Buhari commends FG on safety measure
 In a related development, president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday, said that he is in full support of the steps taken so far by the Nigerian government in its efforts to protect the country’s citizens from the wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
In a statement released in Abuja by his Presidential Campaign Organisation, General Buhari said that Nigeria’s Head of Mission in Pretoria had taken the right steps by advising the Nigerian community in South Africa to close their shops; stay home and keep out of trouble, while ensuring that they obey the laws of their host country.
The statement further stated that, “we equally understand that the South African government is making efforts to bring an end to this unfortunate situation” stressing that, “in the meantime, Nigerians in South Africa should abide by the words of caution extended them by their government representative in Pretoria.”
General Buhari also commended the Nigerian government for its decision to monitor the situation in South Africa and evacuate its citizens at any sign of escalation.
Nigerian Union to resettle 50 Nigerians attacked by S’Africans
The Nigerian Union in South Africa has said that it has concluded arrangements to resettle 50 Nigerians affected by the ongoing xenophobic attacks.
The President of the union, Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on phone from Pretoria, South Africa, on Saturday.
Anyene said the Nigerians were displaced at Jeppes Town, near Johannesburg.
“We met about 300 Nigerians in Jeppes town, near Johannesburg, who fled for their safety and about 50 of them do not have any place to stay.
“We are making arrangements with the Nigerian mission in South Africa to get them a place to stay for their safety,” he said.