By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Federal Government has called for urgent measures to end xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against African migrants in South Africa, urging stronger migration governance, responsible political leadership and deeper continental solidarity.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, made the call on Tuesday, 19 August, 2026 at a virtual roundtable on “South Africa’s Xenophobia in Comparative Perspective,” organised by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), amid concerns over continued attacks and displacement of African nationals in the country.
Enikanolaiye said Nigeria viewed the attacks as a challenge that must be confronted without denial or exaggeration, describing the violence as having “a particularly African, post-colonial and post-apartheid character.”
He said the term Afrophobia was therefore more appropriate in describing attacks targeting African migrants in South Africa.
The minister expressed concern over what he described as the irony of citizens from countries that supported South Africa during its anti-apartheid struggle now being treated as unwanted outsiders.
To preserve the historical record, Enikanolaiye disclosed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had directed the NIIA to undertake a comprehensive study documenting Nigeria’s contribution to South Africa’s liberation struggle.
He said Nigeria’s contribution was estimated at more than $60 billion and included measures such as the nationalisation of British Petroleum, scholarships and hospitality extended to South African leaders.
“The relationship between Nigeria and South Africa is not reducible to trade statistics or diplomatic communiqués. There is history in that relationship. There is blood, sacrifice and solidarity in that history,” he said.
Enikanolaiye disclosed that about 90 Nigerians had been killed in Afrophobic violence in South Africa since June 2022, with fresh attacks and displacements recorded in 2026.
He warned that the continued violence was damaging South Africa’s international reputation, undermining investor confidence and regional integration, while diminishing the moral authority the country gained from its liberation struggle.
The Federal Government, he said, was calling on South African authorities to establish migration systems that are transparent and humane, while ensuring that immigration laws were enforced exclusively by the state.
He also cautioned against vigilantism and urged political leaders to moderate their rhetoric, warning that describing migrants as “criminals” or “job thieves” could create an atmosphere conducive to violence.
Nigeria, he added, was also advocating a fact-based public debate on migration, rather than one driven by misinformation and social media rumours.
The minister called for the full activation of existing Nigeria-South Africa early-warning and rapid-response mechanisms to enable both countries to identify and defuse tensions before they escalate into violence.
He further advocated stronger people-to-people diplomacy involving businesses, universities, religious and traditional institutions, youth organisations, civil society groups and the media.
Enikanolaiye announced that Nigeria, alongside Ghana, would present the issue at the next session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
While acknowledging South Africa’s willingness to discuss the “push and pull factors” behind migration, he stressed that priority attention must be given to hate-driven attacks and violence against African nationals.
He said Africa needed to move beyond mere tolerance towards a continent where Africans were treated as equals, irrespective of nationality.
“What Africa needs now is not mere tolerance but belonging to a continent where a Nigerian in Johannesburg and a South African in Lagos are regarded first as Africans with equal dignity,” he said.
The minister also reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to protecting Nigerians abroad, citing the President’s direct intervention in the recent repatriation of Nigerians from South Africa.
He commended Nigeria’s Heads of Mission in Pretoria and Johannesburg, as well as other stakeholders who contributed to ensuring that the repatriation exercise was carried out promptly.
Enikanolaiye said the Federal Government remained committed to working with South Africa, the African Union, ECOWAS and other partners to ensure that the pursuit of African integration was matched by unity, equality and solidarity in practice.
