The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olusola Enikanolaiye, has urged South Africa to distinguish between legitimate migration management and actions that could be perceived as targeting migrants.
Enikanolaiye made the call at a roundtable organised by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos, where he described attacks against Africans in South Africa as Afrophobia. He stressed that enforcing immigration laws was a legitimate responsibility of governments but should never justify violence, intimidation or attacks on foreign nationals.
The minister said economic hardship, unemployment, poor governance and competition for scarce resources could fuel hostility when frustrations were directed at vulnerable migrants. He warned that xenophobia and Afrophobia could damage South Africa’s international image, investor confidence, diplomatic relations and efforts toward African integration.
South Africa’s Consul General in Lagos, Prof. Bobby Moroe, condemned violence against foreign nationals but rejected the description of South Africa as a xenophobic country. He said more than 80 people linked to recent anti-migrant protests had been arrested and argued that such incidents were isolated rather than representative of the wider population.
Moroe said South Africa hosts about 3.9 million documented and undocumented migrants, including an estimated 800,000 Nigerians. He also cited access to basic healthcare and education for migrants and urged the media to guard against misinformation and the circulation of old videos that could inflame tensions.
NIIA Director-General, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, said Nigeria and South Africa remained critical to Africa’s future and urged both countries to address difficult issues through dialogue and diplomacy to protect bilateral relations and continental unity.
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