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Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Consul-General of Nigeria in Johannesburg, Godwin Adama, has opened up on recent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other nationals in South Africa, disclosing that South African Police watched helplessly as locals looted and burnt down shops.
In this interview with Daily Sun, Adama spoke on the issue of compensation of victims of xenophobic attacks, final airlift of Nigerians, and concluded that the state visit to South Africa by President Muhammadu Buhari which is a reciprocal visit, will make a huge difference as both countries will look into the greatest irritants in the Nigeria-South Africa relations.
What was your experience handling the recent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa?
I was woken up on September 2, 2019, early hours of the morning by calls from concerned Nigerians to the effect that they were under attack by locals at Jeppestown and Malvern in the Central Business District (CBD) of Johannesburg. Prior to this, and a few days earlier, foreign owned shops in the CBD area of Pretoria had come under intense attack with looting and burning of their shops, car marts and other businesses and Nigerians were badly affected. I made immediate contact with the hierarchy of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to ensure effective deployment, but nothing much happened as some police officers available watched helplessly as the locals looted and burnt down shops.
At this stage and getting frustrated, I booked for slots at the studios of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Channels Africa and eNCA News, the three most popular stations in South Africa to air my views on the unfolding developments. I condemned the burning and looting of foreign owned properties, including Nigerians and called for immediate stop to the ugly development, pointing at the flash points of Jeppestown, Malvern, Turffontein and Newtown, all in Johannesburg area. I had equally briefed the Minister and the Permanent Secretary on the development. I was equally in touch with the High Commissioner, Ambassador Kabiru Bala in Pretoria, to appraise the situation and react appropriately. Within the same period, I was in touch with Nigerians in the affected areas advising them to remain calm while we pull the strings. My interviews at the various stations assisted to calm the development as police deployments became visible shortly after. At the end, so much damage had been recorded and Nigerians had lost properties worth millions of rands. I personally supervised the operation at every stage to ensure good success. The Almighty God was faithful despite challenges encountered.
How did the crisis begin?
The one in Pretoria began with the news of the killing of a South African member of the dreaded Taxi Drivers Association by a foreigner, later allegedly identified as a Tanzanian, over an alleged drug deal. The news went out that the culprit was a Nigerian and this sparked riots leading to attacks on foreigners, including Nigerians. Their shops and businesses were targeted, looted and burnt. A few days later, precisely on August 31, 2019, the locals sent out news on social media informing of their plans to attack foreigners if they did not leave South Africa. This was widely circulated giving September 2 as the day of attacks. The police were aware, but nothing was done to forestall any occurrences and attacks began on that day and lasted till September 3, spreading to several areas and towns. Deaths were recorded on the side of South Africans and Zimbabweans, but no Nigerian lost his life in the latest incidents.
How has it been, ensuring the proper evacuation of Nigerians willing to return to the country?
It has been a wonderful experience. I first got the information to evacuate before the visit of the Special Envoy of Mr President to South Africa. Due to unfolding developments, and the need to safeguard and protect the interest of Nigerians in South Africa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency, Geoffrey Onyeama, directed us to get in touch with Allen Onyeama, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace Airlines to discuss evacuation of Nigerians willing to return to Nigeria voluntarily. I called Onyema and it was agreed that the evacuation process would commence considering that over 600 Nigerians had registered to be evacuated. Forms were printed for the affected Nigerians to fill in both Pretoria and Johannesburg respectively and the process of evacuation commenced with documentation. Prior to this, notices and circulars were received officially from Abuja and the same notices sent out to Nigerians across the provinces informing of the evacuation at no cost to prospective evacuees, as the airline was bearing all the cost for the flight. Emergency travel certificates and other logistic support were to be borne by the Mission without any special allocation of funds from headquarters. After thorough documentation process, the first batch of evacuees were evacuated on September 11, 2019, numbering 187 passengers, including infants and children. After the first evacuation, several Nigerians, including women and children came with their bags and luggage to the Consulate General to camp and this created a very unpleasant situation as the Mission was turned into a “refugee” camp, thereby creating a negative perception for national image. I moved to ensure that all stranded women with children were immediately identified, separated and accommodated in hotels, while their luggage was tagged and stored in the Mission’s premises. The stranded men among them were equally moved from the Mission to safe accommodation, some provided by good Samaritans, particularly Pastor Ufougbu who used his sanctuary to accommodate over 50 of such stranded Nigerians. The second batch were evacuated on September 18, 2019. A thorough job was done to ensure all documentation were intact and prospective evacuees were met physically and issued numbers after cross referencing of documents. Coaches (buses) were rented to transport them to the airport and the Mission, fed all those stranded in the premises before being moved to the airport with their luggage. The Missions all interfaced and worked in harmony with the host Immigration, Police and State protocol to ensure effective coordination for the evacuation and 314 passengers made it on the second flight by Air Peace Airlines to Lagos. The evacuation was not without challenges, particularly the first flight which experienced hitches. The Air Peace Airline arrived Johannesburg at about 04.00hrs in the morning and took off about 11 hours later due to Immigration and security challenges faced in the process of processing of passengers at the airport. A number of prospective evacuees were unable to make the flight due to either non possession of relevant documents in respect of their children, particularly birth certificates and valid passports or emergency travel certificates. This was despite the Mission’s earlier instructions to get this documentation sorted out prior to the flight. These were part of the reasons that made the first flight not to be filled, coupled with the fact that some Nigerians declined at the last minute to travel. This development must have caused the airlines great losses.
The Mission then prepared more assiduously to put all hands on deck to make the second flight more successful by ensuring that all prospective evacuees were met face to face and documents effectively screened before the flight. We also faced the challenges of Nigerians who wanted to frustrate the airlift due to their selfish interest. The leadership of the Nigerian Citizens Association (NICASA), led by Prince Ben Okoli was awesome. They worked day and night to assist the Mission to handle the situation.
There was the issue of Nigerians leaving South Africa not going to be allowed back and also losing their work permits. Is it true?
I never experienced this and I was with Nigerians being evacuated at every point of the immigration process. The fact is that over 2/3 of Nigerians evacuated had overstayed their visas and some were not properly documented in the country. Normally, persons that overstayed their visas were usually given “undesirable status” and barred for four years in line with South African immigration laws, and this was not particular to Nigerians. As for losing their work permits, I did not confirm that situation and nobody reported it to me. A few cases of forged work permits witnessed were resolved and such Nigerians were allowed to travel with their children.
What actually was the hallmark of the Special Envoy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s encounter with President Cyril Ramaphosa?
I am not competent to answer this question as the South African President equally responded to the development and in the spirit of diplomatic “rapprochement,” dispatched a Special Envoy to Nigeria to offer apologies and reinstate the commitment of South African authorities to the protection of lives and properties of foreigners, including Nigerians.
Why did Nigeria decide on the state visit by President Muhammadu Buhari?
Although I will not speak on the area as it falls more within the purview of the High Commissioner, but to be brief, the State Visit of Mr President is supposed to be a reciprocal visit to South Africa after the state visit by former President, Jacob Zuma to Abuja in 2016 and a working visit by the current President of South Africa, His Excellency, Cyril Ramaphosa to Abuja in 2018. The visit had been outstanding since 2016 and the opportunity of the visit will see to holding of a Bi-National Commission (BNC) meeting to discuss issues of common interest and outstanding bilateral agreements between the two countries. The BNC has been upgraded to the level of Heads of State from the previous status of Vice President/Deputy President in Nigeria and South Africa respectively. The greatest irritants in our relations, consular matters, will form parts of discussions at the BNC.
Will the visit make any difference?
I believe the visit will make huge difference in relations between the two countries.
How far with the issue of compensation? Any hope?
Well, discussions are on. As could be deduced from the statement of the South African Special Envoy, Jeff Radebe, to Abuja recently, the laws in South Africa talk of insurance policy for all goods and property properly registered in the Republic as means of settlement of claims. However, he confirmed that the issues may form part of negotiations during the proposed visit. On our own part, we have compiled details of the losses and met with affected Nigerians awaiting further directives on the matter.
What is the way forward out of the xenophobic attacks?
Well, there is no hard and fast rule about the way forward for now. However, South Africa must understand that to discourage such incidents in the future, laws must be strengthened to deal with perpetrators and sanctions must be adequately applied. Also, measures must be put in place to encourage peaceful coexistence and efforts to tackle unemployment and engagement of youths in productive sectors. On the side of Nigerians, and other foreigners, they must consciously obey the laws of the land and engage in activities that do not promote conflict, particularly dealing in drugs, and other social vices. We are holding stakeholders meetings to discuss amongst ourselves to discourage this trend. At the same time, the Mission is planning a social cohesion programme to bring South Africans and Nigerians together to appreciate each other in other positive areas, including documentaries on past relations and building synergies for the future. This programme is scheduled for November, 2019.
Evacuation being done by Air Peace Airlines has brought a lot of positive image laundering for Nigeria, and I must commend Mr Allen Onyema for his feat. He is a man of purpose. By this opportunity, several Nigerians who may have nothing to do in South Africa have been evacuated. There are a number of others that need to leave here. May the Almighty God strengthen Onyema and his team of operators, particularly Mrs Tonia Olajide, the Head of Operations, who was constantly in touch with me to ensure a hitch free airlift operation. I must also commend Mrs Abika Dabiri Erewa, the Chairperson of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission, for her tireless engagement on the issue and the good reception accorded the evacuees.
