Xenophobic attacks: Our ordeal in S’Africa, by returnees

.Say their attackers went from home to home, burning, looting

.’Many Nigerians still unaccounted’. Apartheid still in South Africa

It was a tale of woes as 187 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa returned to Nigeria following the xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals by South Africans.

After weeks of surviving the attacks, the returnees say they were happy to be back home.

As they disembarked from the Air Peace aircraft, a Boeing 777-200 which landed at exactly 9.32pm on Wednesday at the hajj and cargo section of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, the returnees were in high spirit, praising the airline, the Federal Government and the Nigerian consul general for the great efforts made to evacuate them from South Africa.

Some of them in separate interviews told journalists that the South Africans were fierce in their attacks against Nigerians, going from house to house, shops to shops, looting and burning whatever they saw as businesses belonging to Nigerians.

Julian Anthony from Edo State, who said he was into media production and has been in South Africa for seven years, said: “It was terrible my brother; we barely escaped with our lives. We were all scared; they go from home to home looking for Nigerians. The apartheid in South Africa is still there.”

Another returnee, Onuoha Chizoba from Abia State, who also had been South Africa for seven years for pastoral work, said: “The area where we live we felt uncomfortable and that the best thing we had to do was to return home. Some Nigerians are still there for reasons best known to them.

“They are killing my people; yesterday another Nigeria died, but they come to say on social media that no Nigerian was killed; it is a lie, they are killing Nigerians. They keep them in the mortuary and some died in the bushes.

“Locked up shops were looted and they burned all the cars inside; it was sheer wickedness. They come together, they start breaking the shops, burning the shops and stealing things.”

The returnees on getting to the venue for profiling by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service and during an address by the representative of the Federal Government and Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, broke out singing the national anthem to express their gratitude for their safe return.

The flight which was expected to arrive at 2pm on Wednesday was delayed in South Africa for over 12 hours as information received from the Nigeria consulate in South Africa said South African immigration service insisted on another round of documentation by the returnees.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa corroborated this information, saying that the South African immigration officials for no reason tried to stop the Nigerians from leaving thereby frustrating the airlift effort.

“They were trying to stop the airlift from happening, but it has happened and we are happy that Nigerians are back home and so out of 317, Air Peace was able to do 187 and we are glad they are back. And President Buhari has ordered that any Nigerian that wants to come back should do so voluntarily, you can see the joy and beauty of coming home,” Dabiri-Erewa said.

She said the Federal Government has made provision for the returnees to be reintegrated and that the Bank of Industry (BOI) is ready to assist the returnees with skills acquisition and start a business of their choice.

“We are giving them stipends to help them get back home and SIM cards too to each of them,” she added.

Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, who flew with the aircraft to and fro from South Africa, said it was a tough journey that on arrival at the Oliver Thambo International Airport in Johannesburg, the aircraft was kept on the ground for hours.

According to him, the consul general was always in touch with them and at a time, it was reported that Nigerians who came for the registration to be airlifted back home were being arrested and requested to give evidence of their permission to enter the country.

He said he was happy to have assisted fellow Nigerians on seeing the gory pictures and videos of what Nigerians were going through in South Africa.

“I want to implore all Nigerians to be his/her brother’s keeper and l am just thankful to God for giving me the heart for being able to take that decision; it was something I did happily for my nation and in support of the government,” Onyema added.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has lauded Air Peace Airline for the successful evacuation of the first batch of 178 Nigerians willing to return from South Africa.

Head of the Ministry’s Crises Monitoring and Public Communications Division, Mr. Kimiebi Ebienfa, made this known in a statement on Thursday following the successful evacuation mission.

According to him, Onyeama commended the proprietor and management of Air Peace Airlines while receiving the 178 Nigerians who voluntarily decided to return to Nigeria following the incessant cases of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

He said that the minister who was represented by Mr. Chuks Jonathan, acting Director, Southern African Affairs Division, assured that the Federal Government will continue to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians in Diaspora.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs also promised that the second batch of the evacuation exercise will commence soonest after working out necessary modalities with the Nigerian Mission in South Africa.

“However, the minister uses this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians in South Africa to remain calm and be patient as the Federal Government is engaging all relevant stakeholders towards finding permanent measures to the unfortunate xenophobic attacks on Nigerians,” Ebienfa said.

The Aircraft conveying the Nigerians arrived the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos at 9.23 p.m. on Wednesday, September 11.