XENOPHOBIA: Sen. Ajibola Basiru Urges Nigerians To Exercise Restraints As Two Wrongs Never Make A Right

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora, Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society Organizations, Senator (Dr.) Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru has urged the Nigerians to be patient and exercise restraints as two wrongs never make a right.

The lawmaker made this statement with the caption, “FRESH ATTACKS ON FOREIGNERS AND THEIR BUSINESSES IN SOUTH AFRICA: NEED FOR DEFINITIVE ACTION”. According to him, while we are of the firm view that the Government of Nigeria and the Commission on Diaspora are doing their best to curtail the ugly trend of xenophobia in South Africa, we are equally concerned that the situation is spiraling out of control and urgent and concrete steps must be taken as soon as immediately.

He stated that our concern about the restlessness of the Nigerian populace to have its pound of flesh against the South Africans has reached a boiling point, adding that, this is evident from posts on the social, print and electronic media. He thus said that what our people in South Africa and back home in Nigeria wants to see the Government doing is the show of definitive and concrete effort at easing their suffering in the hands of the South African hoodlums hiding under the cloak of nationalism to perpetrate evil.

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“These are indeed hard and perilous times for foreign nationals residing in South Africa. In a statement credited to Adetola Olubajo, the President of the Nigeria Union South Africa (NUSA) by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Olubajo stated that fresh attacks on non-South Africans and their businesses started in the late evening of Sunday, September 1, 2019 in Jules Street, Malvern, Johannesburg by violent locals suspected to be Zulu Hostel dwellers, according to the report, at the last count, several businesses have been looted with others burnt and vandalized with about three lives lost.

“While we are of the firm view that the Government of Nigeria and the Commission on Diaspora are doing their best to curtail the ugly trend of xenophobia in South Africa, we are equally concerned that the situation is spiraling out of control and urgent and concrete steps must be taken as soon as immediately!

“Our concern about the restlessness of the Nigerian populace to have its pound of flesh against the South Africans has reached a boiling point; this is evident from posts on the social, print and electronic media. We urge Nigerians to be patient and exercise restraints as two wrongs never make a right. What our people in South Africa and back home in Nigeria wants to see the Government doing is the show of definitive and concrete effort at easing their suffering in the hands of the South African hoodlums hiding under the cloak of nationalism to perpetrate evil,” he said.

Sen. Ajibola Basiru

Speaking further, he said that if we are not careful as a nation, this issue may escalate into unfathomable row between the two countries with very dire consequences, stressing that, to avoid this situation, the Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organizations will be meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week with a view to getting properly briefed and mapping out clear roadmaps to urgently arrest the dastardly acts.