It is two weeks since President Muhammadu Buhari directed that
Nigerians willing to return home should get ready to be evacuated.
Just as the government was making arrangement for the evacuation, then
came Allen Onyema the Chairman of Air Peace. He visited the Foreign
Affairs Ministry where he pledged to fly Nigerians back home free.
Since then there have been accolades for him and his company
describing their offer as patriotic especially in the time of
emergency.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said the offer followed the recent
“unfortunate xenophobic attacks” on foreign nationals, including
Nigerians, in South Africa.
“The general public is hereby advised to inform their relatives in
South Africa who might be interested to take advantage of this
laudable gesture. Interested Nigerians are therefore advised to
contact the High Commission of Nigeria in Pretoria or the Consulate
General of Nigeria in Johannesburg,” ministry spokesperson Ferdinand
Nwonye said in a statement.
The attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa had elicited angry
reaction from parts of Nigeria, including Lagos, Abuja, Bauchi,
Ibadan, and so on..
That same day, President Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and
foreign minister Geoffrey Onyeama met to discuss government’s next
steps in response to the violence.
Also, on that same day the presidency announced that Buhari had sent a
special envoy to President Cyril Ramaphosa to share the country’s deep
concern about the security of Nigerians and their property in South
Africa, and to ensure that the South African government was doing
everything within its power to restore calm. Also Buhari announced his
intention to visit South Africa next in October to meet Ramaphosa.
The gesture by Onyema therefore is a great relief to a country and its
people that sometimes behave as if citizens don’t matter. To fully
appreciate what the airline boss has done, last week the first set of
Nigerians were air lifted home. Seeing them singing the National
Anthem both at their departure lounge in Johannesburg and upon landing
in Lagos proved that indeed even in emergency such as the South
African experience can elicit such patriotism.
Another set of 319 landed at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos. This
was after some delays orchestrated by South African authorities to
prevent the evacuation. There may be a third evacuation since many
Nigerians had registered in order to take advantage of the free trip
to leave South Africa.
There is no doubt about the xenophobic predilection of South Africans.
It did not start today. Since 1994 the people who appear to have been
left behind who are mainly blacks by the way see other black people in
their country as though they came to usurp their birth right. They
started by attacking their neighbours in Zimbabwe for instance. It is
interesting to note that Zimbabwe just like South Africa have
significant Zulu population. Yet they are always the target of
attacks.
A lot have been written already about the assistance that several
African countries rendered that country for them to gain independence.
Yet the whites who control their economy and have rendered them empty
handed are worshipped by blacks of South Africa, yet its other African
immigrants they target to hate.
Unfortunately it appeared the authorities in that country are
complicit in this hateful campaign. Speeches by some of their leaders
continue to make excuses for the hatred of African immigrants. We
concede that in any population there will always be bad people, but
you don’t send mobs to do the job of state security services. You
don’t send or protect mobs to do what the law courts should have.
It is a bit heartening that South African government has reluctantly
got the message that truly Nigerians can voluntarily decide to leave
their country. They have also got the message that Nigerians can be
angry and show it. Hopefully they will learn their lessons to
understand that no man is an island and that so long as you have a
valid visa, the host country must protect you. It is a universal
convention. Of course Nigerians should also learn to comport
themselves in a foreign land.
We therefore commend Air Peace for their sacrifice. This is the
examples that make people believe in their country. Patriotism is not
forced; it is gestures like this that endear citizens to their
country.
