Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has urged President Bola Tinubu to suspend his ongoing foreign trips to France, Kenya, and Rwanda and immediately return to Nigeria over the reported killings and attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
In a post shared on her X.com account on Monday, Ezekwesili described the President’s decision to proceed with a three-nation tour while tensions persist as a failure of leadership.
She wrote, “Return Home, Mr President: The Nigerian Government Must Stop Treating the Killing and Attacks on Nigerians in South Africa as Routine Diplomacy.
“Mr President Tinubu, it is a total absence of leadership to set out on a three-nation junket to France, Kenya, and Rwanda while the bodies of our citizens lay slain in South Africa while the rest hide from a raging mob.”
The former minister argued that the Federal Government’s current response—such as diplomatic summons, public advisories, calls for calm, and evacuation efforts—was inadequate given the scale of the crisis.
“The recurring killing, harassment, looting and intimidation of Nigerians in South Africa is no longer a matter for routine diplomatic statements,” she said, adding that the attacks had become confirmation that the Nigerian state did not value the lives and dignity of its citizens whether at home or abroad.
Ezekwesili further called on the Federal Government to obtain from South African authorities a comprehensive public record of the incidents involving Nigerians, including details of attacks, injuries, deaths, destroyed businesses, arrests, prosecutions, compensation claims, and unresolved cases.
She also urged Nigeria to press for what she described as a time-bound justice framework that would guarantee investigation, prosecution, restitution, and regular public reporting, warning that anything short of that would encourage impunity.
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In addition, she advocated for stronger consular protection systems across Nigerian embassies to ensure citizens abroad can report threats, access emergency help, and receive clear government action.
Referencing Nigeria’s historical role in the fight against apartheid, she stressed that the current situation undermined that legacy.
“Nigeria did not stand aside during apartheid. Through the Southern Africa Relief Fund, ordinary Nigerians gave from their meagre incomes to support the liberation struggle.
Nigeria provided financial, diplomatic, and moral leadership to the African National Congress and other movements when it mattered most,” she said.
Ezekwesili added that President Tinubu should leverage that historical relationship to compel South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to take decisive action.
“President Tinubu would get his counterpart, President Ramaphosa of South Africa, to decisively act and end the killings of our citizens once they can see that Nigeria is ready to deploy everything possible to protect our citizens living in their country,” she said.
She concluded that the government’s inability to effectively protect Nigerians abroad was weakening its authority and deepening what she described as a “legitimacy deficit.”
Meanwhile, reports indicate that no fewer than 130 Nigerians have registered for voluntary evacuation flights from South Africa.