‘Stop xenophobia or else,’ students warn
A RADICAL student movement has given the high commissioner to Nigeria 48 hours to ensure that there are no more xenophobic attacks reported, failing which its members will start attacking South Africans and businesses in their country.
National Association of Nigerian Students members made the threat on Thursday when they attacked MTN offices in Abuja, where they pounced on workers and customers before starting to loot.
Members of the group also tried to invade the South African high commission on Friday but were stopped by security.
High commissioner to Nigeria Louis Mnguni told the Sunday Times yesterday that the association’s leader made the threat in a frantic call to him.
The rising acrimony came days after Nigerian authorities had summoned Mnguni to explain xenophobic attacks on their citizens in South Africa.
The government has respond- ed by saying it will summon Nigeria’s high commissioner to explain why MTN’s offices were vandalised.
Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman Clayson Monyela denied that summoning Martins Cobham was in retaliation to Mnguni being questioned by Nigerian authorities.
“Ambassador Mnguni was summoned by the Nigerian authority to explain what is happening here in South Africa and whether South Africans were hunting Nigerians like animals and killing them.
“The ambassador assured the Nigerian authorities that there was no truth to those allegations,” Monyela said.
South Africa wanted Cobham to explain why MTN’s offices in Abuja were attacked. Cobham would be contacted tomorrow to set up a meeting, said Monyela.
Mnguni said Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, Khadija AbbaIbrahim, wanted to know how South Africa was protecting Nigerians who were reportedly under siege.
“I indicated to them that we don’t condone attacks on foreign nationals, and also don’t support people bringing drugs into our country and operating brothels,” said the diplomat.
Mnguni said Nigerian authority must also concede that some of their citizens peddled drugs and were involved in prostitution rings.
Abba-Ibrahim conceded that no Nigerians had been killed.
MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng confirmed the attack on the company’s offices but refused to give details because “the matter is very sensitive”.
Student movement president Aruna Kadiri, who confirmed he called Mnguni, said there would be blood if South Africans were not out of Nigeria by Tuesday.