Nigeria has begun flying hundreds of its citizens home from South Africa after a wave of anti migrant protests and attacks, becoming the latest African nation to organise emergency evacuations amid rising xenophobic tensions.
A chartered flight carrying Nigerians who had been living and working in South African cities landed in Lagos, where returnees spoke of fear, harassment and uncertainty about their future. Nigeria now joins other countries, including Malawi and Mozambique, that have arranged repatriation for nationals following recent unrest.
Officials in Abuja say that the operation is aimed at citizens who feel unsafe or whose livelihoods have been disrupted by demonstrations and intimidation campaigns targeting foreign workers and shopkeepers. Protesters in parts of South Africa have accused migrants of taking jobs and straining public services such as schools and hospitals.
Hairdresser and mother of three Chinwe Osuala was among those who chose to leave. She was quoted by BBC News as saying that she had previously been attacked at her business premises and that the experience left her and her children too frightened to move around freely. She described deciding to return to Nigeria mainly to protect her family, even though she will miss South African friends who she says treated her with genuine warmth.
After arriving at Lagos airport, some evacuees told reporters that they felt relief at being back on Nigerian soil but also anxiety about finding work and housing. The Nigerian Diaspora Commission says that returnees are being offered transport to their home states, small cash grants worth more than one hundred thousand naira and mobile phone credit to help them reconnect with relatives and search for new opportunities.
Abike Dabiri Erewa, who heads the commission, was quoted by BBC News as saying that government agencies would help evacuees settle and that officials are in contact with South African authorities over the safety of those who remain. The Nigerian consul general in South Africa, Ninikanwa Okey Uche, has argued that migrants make up less than one tenth of South Africas population and cannot be blamed for deep rooted problems in education, health care and employment.
Human rights groups and some analysts say that migrants are being scapegoated in the run up to local elections, with fringe movements using anti foreigner rhetoric to build support. They have urged South African leaders to condemn vigilante style enforcement and to prosecute individuals who organise blockades of clinics or attacks on foreign owned businesses.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced measures intended to tighten enforcement against employers who hire undocumented workers and to speed up deportation hearings. At the same time he has warned citizens not to take the law into their own hands. Nigeria and other African governments are watching closely to see whether those steps will calm tensions or whether further evacuations will be needed.
The developments described here draw on testimony from returning passengers, statements by Nigerian officials and reporting by BBC correspondents in both countries. Together they point to a crisis that touches not only migration policy but also long running economic frustrations, as governments struggle to reassure citizens while protecting the rights and safety of foreign nationals.
