Nigeria House Of Reps Warns South Africa Over Xenophobia

The House of Representatives has described as an “insult” allegations that Nigerians in South Africa are criminals and warns against xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans.

Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila gave the warning Friday during a world press conference in Abuja.

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Gbajabiamila, who dismisses the claim by South African authorities that Nigerians in the country were committing crimes, adds this is the right time to take action

He describes the attacks on Nigerians and their businesses as an “abomination against our people,” stating that, “We did not provoke nor did we deserve the treatment meted out to our people in South Africa.”

He vows to seek restoration and recompense for Nigerian victims of the attacks in South Africa.

“Let no one be left in any doubt, we will seek, and we will obtain by whatever means available, due restoration and recompense for all that has been lost in this latest conflagration and all the ones that have come before.

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“We are committed to a sustained and special effort to see that the ends of justice are met for all our people who have suffered.

“We have heard the cries of our citizens, and we have witnessed their devastation; we will mourn for the dead and cry for the lost, but we will not stop there,” he said.

He says that there ought to be urgency for demanding nothing less than total commitment to revoking the old arrangements that had made such abominations against Nigerians possible.

According to Gbajabiamila, Nigeria has demonstrated its commitment to the brotherhood of nations, sacrificing life, labour and wealth to achieve peace and restore freedom — from Sierra Leone to Liberia, Sao Tome to South Africa.

Gbajabiamila says Nigeria’s commitment had always been to the advancement of Africa, freedom in all lands and prosperity for all African peoples.

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“Yet, today and too many a time, we are called to stand as pallbearers, bringing home to bury the bodies of our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, our children, savaged and decimated.

“What is their offence? That they dared to dream of glory and profit beyond our borders, and having dreamt, they endeavoured to make real the visions of their heart.

“We reject entirely the obvious attempt to change the true narrative of events by casting the recently organised acts of violence as merely internecine conflict between gangs fighting for turf.

“Unless it is the position of South African government that all Nigerians living in South Africa are gangsters and criminals, we demand that they reject these claims without equivocation,’’ he said.

The Speaker says those who are tempted to respond to the latest incidents with violence and destruction in communities should resist such temptation.

“We will honour the lives of our fallen brothers by making sure that never again will our citizens’ inalienable right to life and liberty be so wantonly denied here at home or anywhere else in the world.

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“We will honour the sacrifice of the fallen by devoting ourselves once more to a covenant of service to one another, certain in the knowledge that our greatest protection against such harms is peace, progress and prosperity in the homeland,” he said.

The Speaker commends the actions thus far taken by the President Muhammadu Buhari through the Minister of Foreign Affairs in communicating the government’s extreme displeasure at what has occurred.

Gbajabiamila urged Buhari to direct the Ministry of Health to assist the families of the bereaved in expediting the return of loved ones who have lost their lives in the unfortunate event.

“We ought no longer to wait until our people are caught in the foulest manifestations of these events before we take necessary action to protect them.

“There have been reports that state actors may have participated in the worst acts of violence; sometimes actively, at other times by standing and doing nothing whilst murder and mayhem was unleashed.

“We expect that the government of the Republic of South Africa will conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations and make public their findings whatever they may be.

“Where any of these claims are determined to be true, we expect also that the individuals responsible will be held accountable to the highest degree allowed by law,” he said.

Recall that there was massive looting of valuable items at shops inside Shoprite Mall in Sangotedo, Lagos State, on Tuesday night in what appeared to be reprisals against xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

Some suspected miscreants were seen in trending social media videos carting away items from the stores whose companies are mainly owned by South Africans.

The looting followed earlier threats by some youths to attack the Shoprite Mall, MTN and MultiChoice offices.

They had been prevented by the police during initial attempts to loot the shops, but were said have gained entry to the mall late Tuesday.

Also, President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier recalled Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Kabiru Bala as part of measures to tackle the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in that country.

A statement by president Buhari’s personal assistant on new media, Bashir Ahmad also revealed that Nigeria boycotted the World Economic Forum, WEF holding in Cape Town, South Africa.

Some of the other African countries that pulled out of WEF are Rwanda, Malawi and DR Congo.

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