A former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, has asked President Bola Tinubu to stop his trips to France, Kenya and Rwanda and return to Nigeria to deal with the killings and attacks on Nigerian people in South Africa.
Mrs Ezekwesili made her demand in a message to President Tinubu on her X.com account on Monday.
She said the President’s decision to travel to three countries while Nigerians are being attacked in South Africa showed a complete lack of leadership.
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She said: “Come home, Mr President. The Nigerian government must stop treating the killing and attacks on Nigerians in South Africa as normal diplomatic business.
Mr President Tibubu, it is a complete lack of leadership to go on a three-nation trip to France, Kenya and Rwanda while the bodies of our people lie dead in South Africa and the rest hide from a violent mob.”
The former minister said the government’s response so far was not enough. She said the government had only called its diplomats, given warnings, asked Nigerians to stay calm, and helped some citizens to leave. She said this was too little.
She said: “The repeated killing, harassment, stealing, and frightening of Nigerians in South Africa can no longer be handled with normal diplomatic messages.” She added that the attacks showed that the Nigerian state did not value the lives and dignity of its citizens, whether at home or abroad.
Mrs Ezekwesili called on the Nigerian government to ask the South African government for a full public report. This report should include details of attacks, injuries, deaths, destroyed businesses, arrests, court cases, claims for compensation and unresolved matters involving Nigerians in South Africa.
She also demanded that Nigeria push the South African government to create a clear plan with time limits. This plan must include investigations, court cases, payment for damages, and public reports.
She warned that anything less would reward the people responsible for the killings and let them act without fear of punishment.
Mrs Ezekwesili also asked the government to make its consular protection system stronger at all Nigerian embassies. This would help Nigerian citizens abroad know how to report danger, get emergency help and understand clearly what the government will do for them.
Remembering Nigeria’s part in the fight against apartheid, she said the repeated attacks on Nigerians in South Africa dishonoured their shared history.
She said, “Nigeria did not stand aside during apartheid. Through the Southern Africa Relief Fund, ordinary Nigerians gave what little money they had to support the fight for freedom. Nigeria gave money, diplomatic help, and moral leadership to the African National Congress and other groups when it mattered most.”
She urged President Tinubu to use that history to force South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to take strong action. She said that a strong and clear response from Nigeria would make a real difference.
She said, “When President Ramaphosa sees that Nigeria is ready to use everything possible to protect its citizens living in South Africa, he will act decisively to stop the kiliings of our people.”
Mrs Ezekwesili ended by saying that if the government fails to defend Nigerians abroad, it will weaken its own power and worsen what she called its “lack of right to lead.”
At least 130 Nigerians have asked to be flown back home from South Africa.
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