A South Africa-based Nigerian lawyer, Ugochukwu Anyiam, has urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to evacuate Nigerians facing xenophobic attacks in South Africa and secure protection for those seeking to return home independently.
Anyiam, a lawyer with Anyiam Attorneys Inc. and outgoing president of the Igbo Lawyers Association, made the call while appearing on the Arise News breakfast programme on Saturday.
He commended the Federal Government for its intervention in the ongoing crisis but said more Nigerians still required assistance to leave the country safely.
“We highly appreciate that the Federal Government has done something to show that they care about their people in South Africa, people in crisis, people that are facing hostilities, but the government can still do more,” he said.
“There are thousands of people who are out here who need to go home and can’t go home for one reason or the other.”
According to Anyiam, eight batches of Nigerians have so far been evacuated from South Africa.
He clarified that the Federal Government officially handled five of the evacuations, while the remaining operations were sponsored or subsidised by private organisations, including Air Peace, ValueJet Airlines and the Igbo Lawyers Association.
He said the Igbo Lawyers Association alone sponsored the evacuation of 33 Nigerians.
However, Anyiam said an additional challenge confronting Nigerians wishing to leave South Africa is the arrest of undocumented persons at airports, even when they are willing and financially able to purchase their own tickets home.
“There are a lot of Nigerians here who would want to leave of their own accord. They have the funds to buy their ticket and go home, but they are not able to go home because there are procedural requirements for them to go home,” he said.
He argued that the situation creates a contradiction for Nigerians who have been encouraged to leave but risk arrest when attempting to depart because of their immigration status.
“How do you ask somebody to leave your country and then turn around at the point of exit to arrest this person for leaving because you asked them to leave?” he asked.
While acknowledging South Africa’s right to enforce its immigration laws, Anyiam said the Nigerian government should negotiate a blanket waiver with the South African authorities for Nigerians who voluntarily want to return home.
He said undocumented Nigerians who could afford their own tickets should be allowed to leave without fear of arrest at the airport.
“The government of Nigeria needs to come on board, have a negotiation with the government of South Africa and get them informed that there are Nigerians who want to leave,” he said.
Anyiam also called on wealthy Nigerians, businesses and faith-based organisations to support evacuation efforts, describing the situation as a humanitarian crisis requiring collective intervention.
He said private-sector participation should not necessarily be viewed as an obligation but as an opportunity to demonstrate concern for Nigerians caught in the crisis.
On calls for Nigeria to retaliate against South Africa, Anyiam rejected the idea, saying retaliatory measures would not resolve the situation.
“Retaliatory measures are not necessary. If you are going to retaliate because of what they have done wrong, because of their hostilities, then you are not any different from them,” he said.
Instead, he urged the Federal Government to focus on increasing evacuation flights and ensuring that Nigerians waiting to be evacuated are protected from harassment.
“One, send more flights to evacuate people. Two, while people are waiting to be evacuated, they should not be harassed. When people choose to leave on their own, and they are at the airport, they should not be arrested,” he said.
He described the situation as an extraordinary humanitarian crisis requiring extraordinary measures from both governments.
“It’s not a question of being responsible. It’s a question of a very extraordinary situation that demands extraordinary measures to address,” Anyiam said.