By Oscar Chukwugekwu
Nigerians in South Africa, on Monday, staged a peaceful protest in Pretoria over delays in repatriation flights and slow processing amid ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.
The protesting Nigerians were seen outside the Nigeria House Commission chanting ‘We no go gree’ while demanding urgent actions from the federal government over their situation.
One of the affected Nigerians, in a video during the protest, expressed frustration over the delay, lamenting that women and children were stranded without shelter and food.
“I didn’t really support what the ambassador was saying because it didn’t specify the specific date when the flight could have come. This is because the federal government from our information released five aircrafts from which one came and took people, remaining four aircrafts.
“The question is why the delay because there are stranded women and children hoping to come only to hear that the flight is cancelled. Today, these women in this weather sleep outside. There is no food, shelter and blanket,” he stated.
The protester further queried the sudden cancellation of flights, insisting they were ready to return home amid escalating tensions in the country.
“We want to know what is going on because from what we’re told the relief is not there. Only one flight is not enough. They said five. We have only seen one. Where is the remaining four?
“We are ready to go home. Our people are ready to go home because of this tension going on in South Africa. Most of us might look stranded but we have a home. We are here not because we are desperate but because we love South Africa,” he added.
Nigeria’s acting high commissioner in South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, who addressed the protesters, clarified that the repatriation was temporarily suspended due to operational reasons, assuring affected Nigerians they would be evacuated before June 30.
“Contrary to insinuations that are going on that the repatriation has been cancelled, it has not been cancelled. It was only temporarily suspended due to operational reasons,” Ajayi stated.
The non-violent demonstration came amid ongoing efforts by the government to repatriate Nigerians seeking to leave South Africa following renewed anti-immigration tensions and concerns in the country.
Scores of Nigerians awaiting repatriation earlier underwent screening at the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria as part of the evacuation exercise amid efforts by officials to finalise flight arrangements for registered returnees.
Days ago, 268 Nigerians were successfully evacuated from South Africa. However, more than 742 others remained stranded across different provinces in the country.
The delay in repatriation situation has prompted fresh calls on the Nigerian government to fast-track the evacuation process and provide urgent support for affected citizens.