Nigeria can evacuate many of its voters from the Republic of South Africa following a recent spate of violent attacks on foreign nationals living there, officials said.
“We can still place pressure on the South African Government to require concrete and visual measures to prevent violence against voters of different African nations,” Buhari said in a statement.
“The continual issue of social phobia and attacks on African nationals remains terribly worrying.” At least 640 Nigerian nationals in South Africa have already voluntarily registered to come back, according to Abike Dabiri-Orewa, head of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, who told reporters on Monday that flights to bring them home can depart the Republic of South Africa in the week.
At least twelve individuals, including two foreigners, have died since xenophobic violence flared up in Pretoria, Johannesburg and elsewhere in South Africa this month.
Dozens of individuals are in remission in reference to the violence. Meanwhile, over 750 foreign nationals were taking refuge at native police stations on Tuesday since returning vulnerable, the officials said.
The anti-immigrant violence has sparked protests and return attacks against South Africans in the African country, Zambia and other countries across Africa in recent days. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the deadly violence and referred to as on enforcement to “maintain vigilance and firmness” once addressing the people concerned.
“Government won’t permit isolated lawlessness and violence to disrupt the protection and livelihoods of ample South Africans and therefore the majority of foreign nationals in our country WHO area unit law-abiding and have the proper to conduct their lives and businesses in peace,” Ramaphosa said in a statement Monday.
This price holds back our country and undermines all the efforts we tend to area unit creating to grow a Republic of South Africa that provides the chance to all or any WHO sleep in it.”
Xenophobic attacks have troubled the Republic of South Africa for over a decade amid associate degree increasing a variety of foreigners emigrating to the state. Immigrants account for roughly seven p.c of South Africa’s total population.
That figure nearly doubled from over a pair of million in 2010 to simply over four million in 2017, per associate degree analysis by the church bench research facility, a nonpartisan American think tank.
A survey conducted by the church bench research facility within the summer of 2018 found that sixty-two of South Africans read immigrants as “a burden” on the country “because they take jobs and social advantages.” The poll conjointly showed that sixty-one of South Africans believe immigrants area unit a lot of guilty for the nation’s crime than different teams.
South African Minister of Defense Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told throughout a press informing on Tuesday that the whole country “is not an afraid nation.” “Whoever is found on the incorrect facet of the law ought to be restricted,” she told journalists.
