Professor Kingsley Moghalu, a former presidential candidate, has called for serious actions against South Africa for attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
Moghalu believes the Nigerian government should target some of South Africa’s strategic interests in retaliation for attacks on Nigerians.
Many Nigerians and their businesses were attacked by South African mobs in yet another one in a long string of xenophobic attacks.
Three people were reported to have been killed during the attacks that targeted foreigners in the Jeppestown area of Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city, on Sunday and Monday.
“Nigerian-owned businesses were seriously affected. A car sales business owned by a Nigerian were among the several businesses set ablaze over the night,” the President of the Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA), Adetola Olubajo, said in a statement.
The attacks have led to widespread anger among Nigerians who have taken to social media to call on the Federal Government to take significant actions against South Africa.
Taking to his Twitter account on Tuesday, September 3, 2019, Moghalu called on the Nigerian government to target some of South Africa’s strategic interests in retaliation.
“It’s time for serious reprisal action by Nigeria over the killing of our nationals in South Africa. That’s the national interest that should guide all our foreign relations!
“Some strategic interest of South Africa in Nigeria should be squeezed by @asorockk,” the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) posted.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has also condemned the attacks as unacceptable. “Reported attacks against Nigerians in South Africa is unacceptable and stands condemned.
“Urgent steps need to be taken with the SA authorities and the African Union to bring an end to this ill wind that can only end up destroying the fabric of our African brotherhood,” he posted.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said on Monday that the government will take definitive measures, but the Federal Government has failed to make any further statements.
“Received sickening and depressing news of continued burning and looting of Nigerian shops and premises in South Africa by mindless criminals with ineffective police protection. Enough is enough. We will take definitive measures,” he posted on Twitter.
Nigerians have battled xenophobic attacks in South Africa for years, with at least 127 believed to have been killed over the past three years.
At least 13 of those were documented to have been killed by officers of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
It was revealed last week that four SAPS officers have been arrested in connection to the death of Pius Abiazem, a Nigerian businessman.
Abiaziem reportedly died while he was being interrogated by a team of police officers at his home in Eastern Cape on August 23, 2019.
While holding a bilateral meeting with Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, on the sidelines of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) last week, South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said his government is working to end the attacks.
“We feel very upset about that. Obviously, our criminal justice system is working on it. We don’t support killings,” Ramaphosa said.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the issue at more length during Buhari’s official visit to South Africa in October.
