The Nigerian government on Wednesday took actions to register its displeasures over ongoing Xenophobic attacks by South Africans against its citizens, recalling the country’s Ambassador to South Africa, Kabir Bala
The country has also decided to boycott the World Economic Forum WEF for Africa scheduled to hold in South Africa from Wednesday.
With these decisions, Nigeria has now joined other African countries, such as Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Malawi, who earlier pulled out of the World Economic Forum over the dastardly actions of the South Africans
BusinessDay Villa sources said these decisions were taken at a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo
President Muhammadu Buhari, according to a highly placed source at the Presidency, had met behind closed doors in the early hour of Wednesday to review the xenophobic crises, where the far-reaching decisions were taken.
The source who pleaded anonymity because he is not in “position to speak with the press” stated that the country’s Special Envoy to South Africa will press for “full compensation” for property belonging to Nigerians destroyed by the South Africans
“The Special Envoy going to South Africa tomorrow (Thursday) will demand full compensation for property destroyed,” the source said.
A Civil Society and Advocacy expert, Emmanuel Onyema, applauded the move, and urged the Nigerian government to send the South African Ambassador to Nigeria parking “for claiming that the xenophobic attacks are exaggerated”.
“Yes, Nigeria may not be having a diplomatic row with South Africa, but it is the economic activities of Nigerians that are being paralyzed in South Africa,” he said.
Onyema, while not making excuses for Some Nigerians who may be engaging in criminal activities in South Africa, said: “Anyone found undermining the South African economic interest should be brought under the law. The government should apply the law on them.”
“South African Ambassador to Nigeria did not show enough remorse, and it will not be out of place to send him back to his country as a sign of our seriousness,” he said.
The Civil Society expert also called for caution, even as he condemned the ongoing looting and destruction of South Africa businesses in Nigeria
BusinessDay gathered that as the world, especially African, leaders leave South Africa behind, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will join other leaders of the continent from today to participate in the 2019 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Accra, Ghana.
The event has the theme: “Grow Digital: Leveraging Digital Transformation to Drive Sustainable Food Systems in Africa”.
The forum which opened in Accra on the 3rd of September , presents a premier platform for African and global leaders from both the public and private sectors to advance policies, programmes and investments as well as harnessing agriculture in ensuring food security, increasing income and promoting economic development in the continent.
Other African leaders expected at the forum include Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo, the host; President Faure Essozimna Gnassaingbe of Togo; President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger; President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire, and Edouard Ngirente, the Prime Minister of Rwanda.
Osinbajo and the other leaders at the forum will share experiences in capturing the gains of the digital era to improve food systems, increase adaptation, and drive innovation to achieve the goals laid out in the Malabo Declaration of the African Union (2014) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year
