NIGERIANS STRANDED AT THEIR EMBASSY IN TSHWANE

Hundreds of Nigerians have been left stranded outside their embassy in Tshwane for up to two weeks after they were expecting to be repatriated back to their home country speedily.

They have run out of patience now and are at present vehemently demanding that their embassy must make urgent plans to get them out of South Africa quickly.

Smart Mohobi of the Nigerian Union representing Nigerians in the diaspora told Tshwane Talks at the embassy that the Nigerians who are presently gathered at the embassy are the ones who have registered themselves to voluntarily return to Nigeria safely before the 30 June deadline.

“We appreciate the gesture of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for offering five flights which will take Nigerians out of this country.”

He called for a speedy repatriation exercise because all the Nigerians gathered at the embassy have given up the permits that allowed them to live in South Africa and since they have been promised by the Nigerian government that they will be repatriated, the process must be speeded up.

Rolands Mabula of the Impact Forum, which is a South African civil rights organisation, was also at the embassy to support the stranded Nigerians who desperately want to return to their country of birth.

“We understand how painful it is to be in a country where its people no longer want you and in as much as we understand the frustrations, grievances and challenges of South Africans regarding the issue of migration, we would like to urge them not to take the law into their own hands but must allow law enforcement agencies to do their job,” said Mabula.

He said some of the foreigners leaving the country are investors and losing them will have a negative impact in the economy.

“It is unfair that white people who are in South Africa illegally are not facing the heat that our fellow African brothers and sisters are facing, and as South Africans we risk killing the good relationship that we are having with fellow African countries,” he said.

He pointed out that the deportation process is going to be very costly to the government of South Africa.

“People from Nigeria must not think that all South Africans hate them and it is a pity that some Nigerians will be leaving their South African wives behind, and families will in this way be displaced,” lamented Mabula.

He said since many foreign-owned shops are going to shut down, local South Africans won’t have the cash and the resources to open and operate those shops again.

Nigerian citizen Stanley Chukwudozie told Tshwane Talks that they want to register their dissatisfaction with the Nigerian embassy because it was announced that five flights have been offered to take Nigerians out of South Africa, yet only one flight has actually been provided so far.

He blamed the South African government for delaying the exit of Nigerians from this country as well as corruption regarding the inability of the Nigerian government to supply the remaining four flights as promised.

“It is painful that people who try to leave the county get arrested at places like OR Tambo and taken to Lindela Repatriation Centre where they will spend more than a year there, and this makes people afraid of presenting themselves for screening, and my question is why can’t the South African government just let people go?” he lamented.

“In public, organisations calling for the removal of illegal foreigners are in actual fact calling for the removal of all foreigners irrespective of whether they are legal or illegal in thus country, and they have made it clear that we must go back and fix our own countries but the question is how can we go home if the government of South Africa doesn’t want to allow us to do so?” he asked.

“I would like you to know that we as the embassy of Nigeria are with you in your plight and your concerns are our concerns, and the President of our country is also concerned about your plight,” said Nigerian Ambassador Alexander Temitope as he addressed the impatient Nigerians at the embassy.

He cited “operational challenges” as the cause of the delay in repatriating Nigerians back to their country, but promised that all of them will eventually be repatriated safely and that arrangements have been made by the government for them to get some benefits once they land in Nigeria.

“We have brought food and sanitary pads for people who are stranded here; they have been here since last week after being told that they would be repatriated; they came for screening as required and were actually supposed to fly out of the country on Monday last week, but that flight was cancelled,” lamented National Vice President of the Pentacostal Fellowship of Nigeria Dr Chuks Ugoihe.

“People are stranded here and until now nothing has been said about their plight; there are women with children here; whole families are here and all of them sold their belongings as they were under the impression that they won’t need it any longer as they are going back home to Nigeria,” he said.

Other organisations which brought relief to the stranded Nigerians in the form of food, blankets, toiletry and related materials included Christian Association of Nigeria in South Africa under the leadership of Bishop Vincent Anyadike, as well as the Set Free Foundation and the Anambra Women’s Association under the leadership of Helen Osuoha.