Nigerian envoy in South Africa condemns anti-Nigerian xenophobia
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Trust
Nigeria's High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has condemned the rise in xenophobic hostility targeting Nigerians and other African nationals, warning that it threatens the spirit of solidarity that ended apartheid. He was speaking at the first Nigerian Fair held at the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg, according to the Nigerian daily Daily Trust.
The diplomat recalled that Nigeria had contributed around $61 billion to the struggle for South Africa's liberation. He cited the Southern Africa Relief Fund, nicknamed the "Mandela tax", to which Nigerian civil servants paid part of their salaries for the benefit of the African National Congress (ANC), as well as the pocket money given by Nigerian schoolchildren. According to him, South African freedom was not won by black South Africans alone, but with the support of the frontline states and Nigeria, notably at the United Nations.
Femi Fani-Kayode attributed attacks on African migrants to a minority driven by afrophobia and xenophobia, and called on South Africa to replace hostility with pan-Africanism and cooperation. "We must understand that the world is coming together and that we must stand together," he said. Summary: Nigeria's High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, warned that growing xenophobic hostility towards Nigerians threatens African solidarity, recalling Nigeria's estimated $61 billion contribution to the fight against apartheid. He was speaking at the first Nigerian fair held at the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg, according to the Daily Trust.
