'What wrong have we done?' - Nigerians prepare to leave SA

A Nigerian national prepares to check in for a free flight home from South Africa after deadly riots [Reuters]

Desperate Nigerians living in South Africa, including some who were forced to close their businesses following attacks on foreign nationals in Gauteng, are preparing to leave the country, lock, stock and barrel.

On Wednesday, scores of Nigerians and their children, armed with documents and their belongings, rocked up at the offices of the Consul General of Nigeria in Illovo.

All of them had the same idea – to return home where they believe they will be safe.

Their native country - among the most populated countries in the world - will welcome them with warm hands, they said.

Since the beginning of September, streets in Gauteng have been left covered in ashes after shops, buildings and vehicles were set alight by angry protesters baying for foreigners' blood.

On Wednesday, security guards at the offices of the consul general battled to cope with the number of Nigerians who wanted help.

They were all told that they would be flown back to their home country on Thursday.

Penniless and homeless

Emeka Ojiego, who has been in South Africa since 1998 and is also married to a South African woman, was among those at the office.

The father of three said he was not prepared to go home that he was accompanying one of his brothers who was leaving.

His brother, Chindu Mweremikwu, said he lost everything two weeks ago, in Jeppestown, when his shop was set on fire.

He was inside his shop when he said a group of locals "who had Zulu accents arrived looking for foreigners".

"I was seated at the back of the shop and I quickly escaped by scaling a fence.

"I turned back as I was fleeing and saw my vehicle spares shop on fire. Every part that I was selling was on fire. I am happy that I fled with my life although I have lost everything that I worked hard for," he said.

Mweremikwu said he was heading back home on Thursday and would start life afresh there.

"I came here in 2013 to start an honest life and change things back at home. I didn't foresee that one day I will be left penniless and homeless because of a certain group of ethnic people who doesn't want foreigners (sic).

'It is a few people'

"What wrong have we done? If we are drug dealers and run brothels, the law should have taken its course. Not all of us are here to ruin the reputation of this beautiful country. South Africa is respected worldwide and not everybody is xenophobic. It is a few people that don't want us [and they have] their own motives," Mweremikwu said.

He vowed not to return to South Africa.

Emmanuel Iloegbu said he would start a new life in Nigeria.

Iloegbu arrived in South Africa in 2000 and said he ran a successful business, fixing and spraying vehicles in Jeppestown.

"Everybody, including residents of Jeppe Hostel knew me. I was fixing and spray-painting their cars. They were my customers. I was shocked when they turned their backs on me two weeks ago.

"They ordered me to vacate my shop before looting it. They pushed my cars outside my workshop and set them alight. I lost everything but I am happy that I am alive and am going back home to start a new life.

'South Africa is a good place...I am shocked'

"South Africa is a good place with many good people who love everybody, including foreigners. From what I have seen two weeks ago, I am shocked that is this the future of South Africa.

"There are many South Africans doing business, working and studying in many countries, including Nigeria, and they are not treated there the way we are being treated here.

"I foresee a civil war coming in South Africa. After chasing all foreigners in this country, South Africans will kill each other," he said.

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XENOPHOBIA: Are Nigerians The Real Dealers

By Ifeanyi Amadi

Nigeria, Drug Cartels And Xenophobia In South Africa. THE FACTS.

I have a lot of problem with the authenticity and accuracy of these stories , I'm a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, now University of Johannesburg, I am married to a South African, I worked for the African union from inception until 2009, when I decided to relocate, so, from 1996-2009, that would be 13 years of living in South Africa, by virtue of having studied and worked in South Africa and speak Zulu fluently. Also, due to the nature of the work, it afforded me the opportunity to travel extensively within South Africa and Africa generally. So I can conveniently and confidently say that, I know South Africa and its people, very well.
Now, the issues raised in this write up concerning drugs is untrue, yes, some Nigerians are involved in drugs, but they didn't start it nor are they even in the majority, neither are they the kingpins of drugs, but the thing is Nigerians in South Africa are like the children of the Third Reich, damned for what they are and damned for what they're not.

Encapsulating the drug business in South Africa and prostitution, it would be wise to recognise that drug business was going on before the earliest Nigerians settled in SA, in Cape town, gang wars started in Cape flats amongst the colored people long before Nigerians got there, in Durban, there was drug trade by Indians from Pine town to the Promenade long before Nigerians saw the Indian Ocean in Kwazulu Natal,( note Durban is not a capital city like JHB. Pietermaritzburg is the capital city)

Now, in JHB, drug business by Nigerians are heavily situated in places like, Hillbrow, Berea, Yeovil, Orange grove, Ellis park, Rossettenville. These are areas heavily populated by foreigners of diverse origin.
Let me also shine some light on Prostitution before I conclude. Prostitution is a right of passage of 90% of South Africans, white, black, Indian, colored, the remaining 10% are Khoisan. An average South African girl of 15 years already has a child before the family will now aid her to move from the locations to JHB, Durban, Port Elisabeth, East London, Cape town or Tswane, which is by the way, the real name of Pretoria.
Native South Africans are extremely poor and as as a result crime and prostitution thrive in the Locations ( informal settlements) like Soweto, Alexandra, Tembisa, Lenasia and Eldorado park in Gauteng province, with JHB as capital city. Lamontville, port Shepstone, Umlazi, Umtata, Bluff, and other locations spread out in the Zululand, feed the crime and whore needs of Durban KZN. While in the Cape town is fed by, Gugulethu, Kylitsha, cape flats and neighbouring East London and Port Elizabeth.
The other provinces, like Bloemfontein, Limpopo and basically all of the former Northern Transvaal, Boputhatswana, flock to JHB, supported by migrating prostitutes from Namibian, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and a smattering handful from Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Angola, not forgetting assassins from Mozambique and Zimbabwe. These completes the Violent crimes and Prostitution ring in South Africa.
Looking at drugs holistically, Nigerians, Tanzanians, Indians, Pakistanis' Italians and the Boer South Africans are indictable here, but in different categories.

The drug business are in three categories:-

1. Importers, ( drugs are not indigenous to South Africa) so they are imported from South America, Asia and Europe to SA. You might be wondering Europe? Yes, Europe,drugs is not restricted to Cocaine and Opium, inclusive also are, Fentanyl, Mandrax,Ecstasy, Acid paper e.t.c these come from Europe, they all find their way to South Africa and somebody brought them into the country and just about 10% of importers are Nigerians, are you now wondering who is then responsible for the remaining 90%? South African whites/Boers, yes most drug imports come from Holland which is the Boers original home. Have you ever wondered why there haven't been and major drug bust in the Airports or anywhere else in South Africa? Simple, its a Cartel, run by Indigenes, the Police, immigration and Customs.
2. These are the middle men, who now buy 50-60-70grammes, break it into 5gs and in turn sell to the third and final group in the drug dealing chain, called " Ndi-Atuke" .
3. Now, the third and final group who take the major risk in the business are the ones who may buy 5 or 10g and cook a part to sell as rocks and the other as powder, this group are the street urchins who market in small scale to whoever can afford it and this group are individuals that cannot afford to be cartels as they are constantly harassed by the Police and the Mafia, to pay protection money.

This third group, some of them team up with pristitutes to bring their customers ( mainly whites) to buy from them. So the prostitutes are already addicts, who are no longer accepted as residents in strip clubs like Summit club, Dorchester and other such clubs that dot the cities of South Africa like a reminder of its immediate gory past, they are the prostitutes and all Pinch sellers are guilty of such association and its not restricted to Nigerians.
Now to the reason why Nigerians are targets for this Xenophobic attacks are two tiered.

1. Once upon a time on Etv South Africa, there was a Talk show named "Third Degree" hosted by an Indian lady who was trying to divert attention of criminal acts from her stock to Nigerians, first of such shows was a Masacre that took place in a gay club called little Caesars, in the ensuing documentary, she blamed it on Nigerians and drugs, but when the case was finally busted, no Nigerian was involved. It was dobe by whites and Indians who hated Homosexuality. The second documentary of note was the Moodly killing, Moodly, an Indian then a student in the University, reported his white girlfriend missing, and Mrs Pillay of Third degree concocted a story that Nigerians abducted her because of debt from drugs. At the conclusion of the investigation, when the body was found, autopsy indicated that the girl was not a drug user and that Moodley himself strangled and dumped her body before reporting her missing, again, no Nigerian involved.
2. The second and most probable reason ( which even irritates me) Nigerian drug dealers in Hillbrow are lousy, Infact, if you see them misbehaving in South Africa, you'd think they're in the village and drug sale is a legal business. Others nationals more involved and richer are absolutely living non-descript lives, but their Nigerian counterparts in the lower rung are living flamboyantly with no obvious source of income.

So, in conclusion, Nigerians are not as was described in that write up, but they have simply constituted themselves into a "nuisance" in South Africa by their show-off. If they were the biggest drug dealers in South Africa, they would all be in prison by now. The biggest barons are big South Africans and are known to the government, that's why they are untouchables. Don't regard all their blame-shifting

There are lots of Nigerian professionals living and working in South Africa, even the face of Vodacom the largest telecom service provider is a Nigerian. Many small and medium scale businesses in South Africa are established and run by Nigerians. They create several jobs for South Africans.
There are so many Nigerian Doctors, lecturers, business men , Engineers holding places of pride in the economy and society. These are areas where the citizens don't even have the capacity to cover.

Finally, xenophobia has nothing to do with drugs, but lots to do with envy. They came to loot and kill. Do you fight crime with another crime?

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Xenophobia: What South African Mobs Said

Following the attack by the South African mobs against Nigerians residing there, a South African took to his twitter quoted "Tomorrow we fucking them up again and your government won't do shit"

On the other hand some Nigerians reacted through twitter page:

@Royaltyuso “Nigeria cannot even vex and ask her citizens to return home. Nigerians in the diaspora will rather face hell abroad than return to Nigeria. The harsh reality of a failed nation.” 


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Xenophobia: What Nigerians should do to South Africans now – Moghalu

By

 Fikayo Olowolagba

Kingsley Moghalu, the 2019 Young Progressives Party, YPP, presidential candidate has condemned the killing and attack on Nigerians in South Africa.

The reported viral videos on Monday showed widespread attacks on Nigerians and their businesses in South Africa.

The President of the Nigeria Union South Africa (NUSA), Adetola Olubajo who confirmed the development to NAN said on Monday that the attacks began on Sunday morning in Jeppestown area of Johannesburg when a building was set ablaze by an angry mob.

“The mob also looted several shops that were around the vicinity suspected to be owned by foreign nationals. But the Police later dispersed the mob and made some arrest.

“Late in the evening of Sunday, Sept. 1, a group of violent locals suspected to be Zulu hostel dwellers besieged Jules Street in Malvern, Johannesburg looted and burned shops/businesses,’’ he saidin a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. 

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