Amidst calls for reprisal actions against South African government and its interests in Nigeria, the Federal Government has declared that it would sustain the course of diplomacy and negotiations.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye, made the declaration on Tuesday evening while speaking with State House correspondents shortly after he met with President Bola Tinubu.
Ambassador Enikanolaye was at the State House to brief President Tinubu on the outcome of his meeting with his South African counterpart, Ronald Lamola, who visited Nigeria as a special envoy of President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa.
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The Nigerian Foreign Minister disclosed that President Tinubu endorsed the diplomatic options while keeping other options on the table if negotiations failed to guarantee the protection of the lives and property of Nigerians at the receiving end of attacks in South Africa.
He said: “I reported to the President, as I told the envoy yesterday, that Nigeria has options, and the President agrees with me. There are options. We are not helpless in this situation.
“All options are still on the table. We will prefer diplomacy and negotiations to continue until we can arrive at a mutually acceptable outcome that will protect Nigerian citizens, their lives and property in South Africa.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister dismissed the claim that illegal immigrants are at the receiving end of attacks in South Africa as he noted that every Nigerian citizen deserved protection regardless of immigration status.
“Whether they are regular or irregular, they are human beings, and we made that very clear. Criminals also have a right to life. You cannot say because they are criminals and begin to hound and kill them. We made that very clear, and South Africa agreed with that position.”
He expressed delight that his engagement with the South African envoy was fruitful, declaring that one of the major outcomes was an agreement on the need to quickly activate the Early Warning Mechanism earlier agreed between both countries, alongside the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission.
“I gave the President specific details of the commitments we were able to secure from the South Africans, including the need to quickly activate the Early Warning Mechanism, which Mr President mentioned specifically, as well as the Bi-National Commission between our two countries.”
Enikanolaye, who disclosed that over 1,490 citizens had since been evacuated back home, however, confessed that many more Nigerians are still anxious to return to the country.
He commended President Tinubu for fast-tracking the evacuation done so far.
Responding to the question of demands for compensation from South African government by returnees, Ambassador Enikanolaye said it would form part of the continuing engagement with the South African government.
“We have designed a form to be filled by all Nigerians who may have lost property in South Africa because we want to proceed based on data and the actual contour of losses they have suffered.
“Our engagement with South Africa is ongoing. It is not a one-off event. Yesterday was a continuation, and we intend to continue meeting. We will then table those claims and explore options for compensation.“