Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, says the Federal Government will seek compensation for businesses and properties abandoned by Nigerians returning from South Africa under its voluntary evacuation programme.
Ajayi disclosed this on Tuesday as another batch of Nigerians was expected to arrive in Lagos aboard an evacuation flight organised by the Federal Government.
He said those being repatriated voluntarily opted to return home ahead of planned anti-immigrant protests, adding that the government had already begun documenting businesses and properties left behind by returnees.
“In terms of the businesses, just three days ago, myself and the South African Deputy Minister of Finance were together, and we were discussing this. I took up the discussion with her, and we have agreed that we are going to ask our people who are returning to begin to document what they are leaving behind, and that was the message yesterday before this set that is due to land in Lagos.
“I have asked them before they left yesterday to document very accurately those things they were leaving behind in terms of businesses, in terms of even cars, movable and immovable properties. We can now take it up with the South African government. That is the next step we are going to take,” he said.
Ajayi said the evacuation exercise would not end with bringing Nigerians home, stressing that the Federal Government intended to pursue compensation for those who had invested in South Africa.
“So, this repatriation will not end with just taking people to Nigeria. We are going to systematically follow up on the information given to us, and I told them to be very accurate with what they are going to give because we are going to work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops and properties and present them to the South African government for possible compensation because we will not allow the labour people have suffered to build over the years to just go down the drain or be taken over by people,” Ajayi said.
The envoy also rejected claims that most Nigerians living in South Africa were undocumented, insisting that the majority entered the country legally and only became affected by delays in the renewal of immigration documents.
“In the last three or four years, there has been a deluge of applications at the South African Home Office which were not attended to due to systemic issues. So, because of this, many, not only Nigerian nationals, were caught in this web of delay, so you cannot rightly claim that these were undocumented because most of them came to the country legally in terms of how somebody should migrate.
“So, it is on the basis of now wanting to renew their papers and get them when one expires that they were caught up in the unnecessary delays. So, when people try to say they were undocumented, I quite disagree with that because some of them, based on experience, have had their papers lag behind at the Home Office for years,” Ajayi said.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an aircraft operated by Air Peace departed Nigeria on Monday and was expected to return to Lagos on Tuesday morning with another batch of Nigerians who opted for voluntary evacuation.
The latest evacuation comes as anti-immigration groups prepare to stage demonstrations from June 30, prompting the Federal Government to intensify efforts to assist Nigerians willing to return home.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that former Nigerian ambassador to Switzerland, Joseph Ayalogu, urged Nigeria and other African countries to demand compensation from the South African government for victims of xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals, particularly Nigerians.
Speaking on the same Channels Television programme, Ayalogu condemned repeated attacks on foreign-owned businesses and called for stronger enforcement of existing South African laws.
“It’s unfortunate that they are targeting people’s businesses. I have seen some of the posts [on social media where people are] deliberately going to people’s businesses and taking over their businesses. It’s unfortunate, and the government has to even begin to think of compensating even the people who have lost their livelihood and investments there,” he said.
He argued that African governments should take a firmer diplomatic stance in pressing Pretoria to protect migrants and enforce its laws.
Ayalogu added that he remained dissatisfied with the South African government’s response to recurring xenophobic violence, including public statements issued by its leadership.
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