Some Nigerians among the first batch of returnees evacuated from South Africa have spoken out about their experiences, describing alleged harassment, intimidation and attacks in the country following renewed xenophobic tensions.
The group of about 270 Nigerians is expected to arrive in Lagos on Thursday morning aboard an Air Peace aircraft from Johannesburg, as the Federal Government continues evacuation arrangements for citizens willing to return home.
Speaking in an interview with The Cable on Thursday, one of the returnees, Henry, said he faced repeated challenges with authorities during document checks, which he described as frustrating and discriminatory.
“I went through a lot. Because when they come to you, they will ask you, your papers, even when you show your papers, they still find something,” he said.
He said the experience left him with no option but to return to Nigeria, insisting he would rather start afresh at home.
“There is nothing I can do than to start afresh. I am home, after all, this is my country, nobody will ask me where is your document and all that… I came back alive” he said.
Another returnee, Emilia Godwin, alleged that Nigerians were routinely mistreated in South Africa, claiming they were subjected to violence and humiliation.
“They are wicked. They are wicked and wicked. They don’t like us. They make jests of you, they pull you. They beat you. We are like salves, we don’t have mouth to talk,” she said.
Godwin said she had lived in South Africa since 2014 but decided to leave after years of what she described as worsening conditions for foreigners. She added that she would not allow her child, who was born there, to return.
“This my child she was born there but yeah, she will never go to South Africa anymore,” she said.
She further stated that she had long hoped for better opportunities but only became convinced to leave in recent years due to what she described as increasing hostility.
“This best opportunity I’ve been waiting for since 2014, I came to South Africa. I started seeing this sign 3 years. But I didn’t see this opportunity to come back. They are wicked,” she said.
The returnees’ accounts come amid renewed concerns over xenophobic violence in South Africa, which has in the past triggered diplomatic tensions across the continent and repeated calls for stronger protection of African migrants.
The evacuation comes amid concerns raised by the Federal Government over alleged harassment of Nigerians in South Africa. Authorities have previously warned that retaliatory diplomatic measures were not off the table, even as evacuation plans were being finalised to bring willing citizens home.