Union Leader Urges Nigerian Government to Evacuate 300 Additional Nigerians from South Africa
The president of a Nigerian union has appealed to President Tinubu's government to facilitate the evacuation of 300 more Nigerians from South Africa amid ongoing concerns over xenophobic violence, as the final official repatriation flight prepares to land in Lagos.
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As the Nigerian government prepares to conclude its current repatriation exercise for citizens returning from South Africa, a union leader has called for the evacuation of an additional 300 Nigerians still willing to leave due to fears of xenophobic violence. The appeal comes even as the final flight in the current repatriation effort is scheduled to arrive in Lagos on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The president of the union, Mr. Nwobi, urged the Tinubu administration to extend evacuation efforts to accommodate more Nigerians seeking to leave South Africa voluntarily. He cited ongoing insecurity and hostility as key reasons for the continued desire among some Nigerian nationals to self-deport. “We appeal to the Nigerian government to step in and support the evacuation of these 300 individuals who are ready to return home,” Nwobi said, as reported by Peoples Gazette.
In the same appeal, Mr. Nwobi also requested that the South African government grant a waiver to Nigerians opting to leave, to prevent them from being arrested or detained during the process of self-deportation. This follows previous incidents where undocumented nationals faced legal complications when attempting to exit the country.
The current repatriation initiative, managed by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was launched in response to a surge in xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals in South Africa. According to Daily Trust, the final evacuation flight under this phase will land in Lagos on Wednesday, marking the official end of the government’s organized return program. However, the union’s renewed appeal highlights lingering concerns among diaspora communities and raises questions about the adequacy of current repatriation measures.
While the Nigerian government has not yet responded publicly to the request for additional evacuations, the appeal underscores the ongoing challenges faced by African migrants in the region and the diplomatic pressures such crises place on bilateral relations. The situation also reflects broader regional tensions around migration and integration within Southern Africa, where xenophobic sentiment has periodically flared in recent years.