South Africa is sending our people back again

The Nigerian government has confirmed that another batch of our citizens is being evacuated from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks. This is not a rumour. The evacuation started this week and over 300 Nigerians have registered to return home. The South African government has said it cannot guarantee the safety of foreign nationals in certain areas.

This is the same pattern we saw in 2019 and 2021. Our people go there to work, to trade, to build businesses. Then the hostility rises and they are forced to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The Nigerian government has opened a help desk at the Lagos airport for returnees but what about the ones who lost their shops and homes? Who compensates them?

I am asking this as a Yoruba woman who has seen too many of our young people go through this cycle. We keep sending our citizens abroad without proper bilateral agreements to protect them. When will we learn that dignity is not something you beg for? It is something you build at home.