Minister of foreign affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has given assurances to Nigerians living in South Africa that no citizen ready to return to Nigeria will be left as a June 30 deadline set by anti-migrant groups for undocumented foreigners to leave the country looms near.
The first batch of 258 repatriated Nigerian nationals landed in Lagos last Thursday.
A second batch was expected on Monday but was later shifted forward. Four more repatriation flights have been scheduled.
In a statement issued by the minister’s special assistant on communication and new media, Magnus Eze,,
Odumegwu-Ojukwu stated that President Bola Tinubu has issued a directive mandating that every Nigerian who has voluntarily indicated willingness to return home must leave before the deadline.
About 1,000 Nigerians have shown interest in returning, according to the minister.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said Nigeria is actively engaging South African authorities through diplomatic channels and broader actions.
“When it comes to situations like this, of course, it is necessary to be temperate and exercise caution. But when your citizens are being harassed, when your citizens are people who have spent years there, and mind you, some of them are married to South Africans and have children who have known no other home but South Africa, then it becomes a serious concern,” the minister was quoted as saying.
“Now, under these circumstances, they are asking not just Nigerians, but also their South African spouses and their children, to leave South Africa.
“As I indicated before, there are these huge conglomerates. By the way, there are over 120 South African companies operating in Nigeria.
“Nobody is asking them to provide proof of identity. Nobody is asking South African staff working there whether they are South Africans or Nigerians, and nobody is taking over their shops or businesses.
“But this is happening to Nigerians in South Africa. So, I think that at some point, we really have to review the options available to us.
“We have MTN, MultiChoice, Stanbic, Protea and many other South African brands spanning multiple sectors.”
