A former Kaduna Central district Senator, Shehu Sani, has condemned the fresh xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
The senator, via his Twitter handle on Thursday, lamented the resurgence of xenophobic attacks on two Nigerians in South Africa last weekend.
While comparing the apparent dislike for Nigerians in South Africa with the contrast in Nigeria, how their companies and citizens are flourishing, the human rights activist lamented unfairness.
He tweeted, “Two days ago,two Nigerians were shot dead in South Africa in a fresh xenophobic attacks;
“At the same time,MTN,a South African telecom Company in Nigeria has posted about N2 trillion in revenues.
“We are African Brothers but we can’t continue to live like this.”
Vanguard reported that two Nigerians were allegedly shot dead in Johannesburg, South Africa over the weekend amid resurgent xenophobic attacks on foreigners in the country.
According to ICIR, on Monday, one of the victims identified as Dashu was gunned down at Midrand Hyper in Johannesburg on Saturday, but the details of the incident were still unclear.
The report stated that Dashu was a popular trader around the Boulders Mall area in Johannesburg and was reportedly married to a Congolese woman with whom he had two children before he was brutally murdered.
Also, the other deceased who was yet to be identified as at the time of filing this report, was killed in a suburb of Johannesburg, the same day after the suspects allegedly called him by name to confirm his identity.
He was allegedly shot multiple times in what was a blatant xenophobic attack, according to ICIR.
Violent attacks on Nigerians and other Africans have regularly erupted in South Africa partly because some South Africans accuse foreigners of dealing drugs or taking their jobs.
In 2019, at least 10 deaths were recorded, including two foreigners, and many businesses were destroyed, prompting Nigeria to recall its ambassador while the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Ret’d.) sent a special envoy to South Africa.
The South African government who had largely blamed the attacks on criminals, later admitted that some of it was being driven by xenophobia.