The Federal Government has revealed plans to seek compensation for Nigerians who lost property during the recent attacks in South Africa while intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent further violence.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, disclosed this on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to the minister, the briefing followed Tinubu’s directive to receive South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Special Envoy and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola.
Enikanolaiye said he updated the President on commitments secured from the South African government, including the activation of an early warning mechanism and the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission to strengthen bilateral engagement.
He also informed Tinubu that about 1,490 Nigerians had been evacuated from South Africa following the attacks.
“I thanked him for making the resources available. I also told him that two of the evacuation batches were funded by private individuals,” the minister said.
He noted that while many Nigerians had been evacuated, some citizens still wished to return home, adding that the government was exploring additional funding options to facilitate further evacuation operations.
Enikanolaiye said President Tinubu agreed that the attacks were “Afrophobic” rather than merely xenophobic, stressing the need for African countries to work together to end such violence.
“The President agreed with me that it is Afrophobic and that Africa must unite in ensuring that we put an end to this spiral of violence,” he said.
He added that Tinubu’s cordial relationship with President Ramaphosa would be leveraged to deepen diplomatic engagement aimed at ending the attacks.
On compensation, the minister said the Federal Government had introduced a data collection process for Nigerians who suffered property losses during the attacks.
“We have designed a form to be filled by all Nigerians who may have lost property in South Africa. We want to proceed on the basis of data and the quantum of losses they have suffered before tabling our claims,” he said.
He stressed that Nigeria would continue to pursue negotiations with South Africa while keeping other options open if diplomatic efforts failed.
“Nigeria has options. We are not helpless in this situation. We would prefer diplomacy and negotiations until we arrive at a mutually acceptable outcome,” he said.
Enikanolaiye also maintained that every Nigerian, irrespective of immigration status, deserved protection under the law.
“Whether they are regular or irregular, they are human beings. Criminals also have a right to life. You cannot hound and kill them because they are criminals,” he said. (NAN)