Xenophobia: Onyeama hits back at South Africa's minister over comments
- South African minister Naledi Pandor has been accused of fuelling xenophobia with her comment
- Pandor had said many Nigerians in South Africa indulge in human trafficking and drug dealing
- In reaction, Nigerian minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said it is such statement from senior government officials that fuel xenophobia
Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, has criticised his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor's statement that many Nigerians in South Africa indulge in criminal acts.
Pandor had in an interview with South African television station eNCA on Thursday, September 4, said many Nigerians resident in South Africa are “drug dealers” and some are also involved in human trafficking.
She made the comment while reacting to concerns that the country’s security agencies are not doing enough to stop attacks on foreigners.
Reacting via his Twitter handle, Onyeama described Pandor’s comments as “outrageous.” According to him, such statements are further fuelling xenophobia.
He tweeted:
Meanwhile, South Africa has said there will be no compensation for Nigerians who incurred losses in xenophobic attacks. According to Pandor, payment of compensation was not in the country’s law.
Legit.ng had reported that Onyeama had on Tuesday, September 3, called for full compensation for the victims. He said: “Full compensation has to be paid because as we have discovered from previous experience, a lot of these Nigerians lost their property and it is a long drawn out process and very often are not compensated for it."
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He reiterated this on Thursday, September 5, in a chat with newsmen at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, saying: “Our citizens there have suffered a lot. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that they are compensated and we will take measures necessary and do whatever we have to do to ensure that they are compensated.”
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Xenophobia: South African high commissioner speaks on recent attacks - on Legit TV:
Source: Legit.ng
