Founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend what she described as “unnecessary foreign junkets” and urgently confront the growing wave of attacks and killings of Nigerians in South Africa.
In an open letter addressed to the President on Monday, Ezekwesili condemned Tinubu’s trips to France, Kenya and Rwanda at a time Nigerians in South Africa were allegedly being killed, attacked and forced into hiding.
The former Vice President of the World Bank said the situation had gone beyond routine diplomatic concerns and now reflected a dangerous failure of leadership and state protection.
“Return home, Mr President. The Nigerian Government must stop treating the killing and attacks on Nigerians in South Africa as routine diplomacy,” she wrote.
“It is a total absence of leadership to embark on a three-nation trip while the bodies of our citizens lie slain in South Africa and many others hide from raging mobs.”
Ezekwesili argued that the recurring killings, harassment, looting and intimidation of Nigerians in South Africa had escalated into a grave national concern, exposing what she called the Nigerian government’s inability to protect the lives and dignity of its citizens both at home and abroad.
According to her, diplomatic gestures such as summoning envoys, issuing travel advisories and urging citizens to remain calm were no longer sufficient.
“Nigerians in South Africa deserve measurable protection, not recycled outrage from citizens and anodyne diplomacy from their government,” she stated.
The former Education Minister called on the Federal Government to immediately demand and publish a comprehensive account from the South African government detailing reported attacks, deaths, injuries, destroyed businesses, arrests made, prosecutions initiated, compensation claims and unresolved cases involving Nigerians.
“We need verifiable data from the South African government on all that has happened to Nigerians in their country,” she said.
“Above all, Nigeria must demand a time-bound justice framework covering investigation, prosecution, restitution and public reporting. Anything less rewards the impunity with which killer mobs attack our citizens.”
Ezekwesili also urged the Federal Government to strengthen consular protection systems across Nigerian embassies so Nigerians abroad would know where to seek emergency assistance and what response to expect from their government.
She warned that any administration unable to defend the dignity and safety of its citizens overseas risks weakening its legitimacy and moral authority.
The former minister further appealed to President Tinubu and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to take decisive steps to halt attacks on Nigerians.
Recalling Nigeria’s historic role in the anti-apartheid struggle, Ezekwesili said Nigerians made enormous sacrifices to support South Africa’s liberation.
“Nigeria provided financial, diplomatic and moral support to the African National Congress when it mattered most. Ordinary Nigerians contributed from their meagre incomes to support the struggle against apartheid,” she stated.
“That shared history is now being dishonoured each time Nigerians are attacked or killed on the streets of South Africa.”
She concluded by urging Tinubu to return home and focus on his constitutional responsibility of protecting Nigerian citizens.
“Nigerian lives must matter everywhere, at home and abroad, especially now in South Africa,” she stated.
0Related posts:
Interrogating Two Years of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy Under President Tinubu
Why South Africans Murder Nigerians in Cold Blood, By Festus Adedayo
Internal Security Dynamics and the Imperative of a New Policing Thought in Nigeria
Oby Ezekwesili Bags Lifetime International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award in Qatar
Cashless Nigeria: Why Emefiele May Lose the War – Femi Kusa …Musings on Buhari, Tinubu, Peter Obi, CBN
Oby Ezekwesili to Deliver Keynote at Penpushing Media’s 7th Anniversary Lecture