The first batch of Nigerian evacuees from South Africa is expected in the country on Thursday following rising xenophobic attacks.
In a statement on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said the evacuees will leave South Africa late Wednesday.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the first batch of Nigerian nationals that will be evacuated from the Republic of South Africa due to Xenophobic attacks will depart the Oliver Thambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Wednesday night, and the expected time of arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos is 5.00 am on Thursday morning,” the statement read in part.
“The evacuation operation will be undertaken by Air Peace Airlines. The Federal Government of Nigeria has fully funded the evacuation exercise; consequently, all affected Nigerians will be repatriated at no cost to them.”
Ebienfa assured Nigerians that the Federal Government, through relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), has put in place the necessary reception and support arrangements for the returnees.
“Upon arrival, the evacuees will undergo documentation and profiling procedures and will receive the appropriate assistance and support before being reunited with their families,” the ministry’s spokesperson added.
READ ALSO: Nigeria To Repatriate Over 1,000 Nationals From South Africa As Tensions Rise
Tensions soared in South Africa after a citizen-led group opposed to irregular migration last month ordered all undocumented foreign nationals to leave by June 30.
Ghana and Mozambique have repatriated hundreds of their citizens; Malawi and Nigeria have announced they would do the same. Last week, Nigeria said it planned to repatriate more than 1,000 of its nationals from South Africa.
“Total figure not out yet,” Ebienfa said. “We are expecting over a 1,000 persons.”
In a statement, Nigeria’s High Commission in Pretoria said it had “negotiated waivers with host authorities” so that those with “immigration-related offences” would be allowed to leave on the eventual repatriation flights rather than be detained.
On Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, said Nigeria may be considering retaliatory measures against South Africa following the hostility towards Nigerians and other black African migrants.
When asked whether Nigeria was considering retaliatory measures, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the option was under consideration.
“Well, that is a situation that we are considering. This is up to our legislature,” she said. “This is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government, but it’s not off the table.”
South Africa, until recently the continent’s most industrialised economy, has long attracted workers from across the region.
But saddled with an unemployment rate of over 30 percent, it has seen repeated spurts of xenophobic protests — including renewed violence in recent weeks.
The latest tensions have revived uncomfortable debates across Africa about xenophobia, migration and the gap between pan-African rhetoric and realities facing migration on the continent.
An ultimatum by one citizen-led group for illegal migrants to be expelled by June 30 has raised fears of violence after bouts of anti-immigrant unrest in the past that claimed dozens of lives.
Last month, Ghana repatriated some 300 people, the first batch of what authorities said was expected to be a total of about 800 Ghanaian nationals.
The South African government has said it is stepping up enforcement against undocumented immigrants but urged citizens not to take matters into their own hands.
