By Babs Oyetoro
A former Nigerian Ambassador to Switzerland, Joseph Ayalogu, has called on Nigeria and other African countries to demand compensation from South Africa for citizens whose businesses, investments and livelihoods have been destroyed in recurring xenophobic attacks.
Ayalogu said African governments must move beyond diplomatic protests and insist on concrete action from Pretoria over repeated attacks targeting foreign Africans living in South Africa.
The former diplomat spoke against the backdrop of renewed violence that has forced several African countries, including Nigeria and Ghana, to evacuate some of their citizens amid growing fears over safety.
According to him, victims who lost businesses and investments deserve compensation, while the South African government must be held accountable for failing to prevent the attacks adequately.
“It’s unfortunate that they are targeting people’s businesses. The government has to begin to think of compensating people who have lost their livelihoods and investments,” Ayalogu said.
“These are the things African countries, Nigeria included, should forcefully demand from the South African Government.”
The former envoy argued that successive South African administrations have not demonstrated sufficient political will to end the attacks despite possessing the legal and institutional tools to do so.
“I am not satisfied with what the government has done. They should be firm and say this is not right, this is not acceptable, and it is a criminal offence,” he stated.
Ayalogu also challenged the popular description of the attacks as xenophobia, insisting that the violence appears to be directed largely at fellow Africans rather than foreigners from other parts of the world.
“You wouldn’t say it’s xenophobic because it is largely Afrophobic. They are not targeting Americans, Europeans or other foreigners living among them. Their hostility seems focused on Africans,” he said.
The former ambassador warned that failure to address the crisis decisively could further damage regional integration efforts and undermine the spirit of African solidarity promoted by the African Union.
The recurring attacks have remained a source of diplomatic tension across the continent, with critics accusing South African authorities of reacting only after violence has escalated.
