Xenophobia in South Africa: Tinubu Puts MTN, DSTV Licenses on the Chopping Block as Evacuation Begins

..Refuses to ‘Save Face’ for Ramaphosa, brings 258 citizens home

The first batch of 258 Nigerian returnees arrived safely at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Thursday, June 11, following a decisive evacuation operation personally ordered and funded by President Bola Tinubu.

The Air Peace flight, which touched down at approximately 10:30 AM, brought home men, women, and children who escaped a brutal wave of xenophobic violence in South Africa.

The evacuation marks the beginning of a phased repatriation spearheaded by the Presidency, which will see four more flights bring home an estimated 1,000 registered Nigerians by June 24.

Defying Diplomatic Pressure to Protect Citizens

Emerging details reveal that President Tinubu had to push past intense international pushback and direct pleas from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to pause the evacuation over concerns regarding South Africa’s global image.

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According to the Acting High Commissioner to Pretoria, Ambassador Temitope Ajayi, the President had been deeply agitated by the plight of Nigerians since the violent anti-migrant protests erupted in April and May.

Armed vigilionte groups like “March and March” had been conducting violent door-to-door raids, setting a self-imposed June 30 deadline for foreigners to leave.

“Without the personal intervention of Mr. President, we would not have been here,” Ambassador Ajayi disclosed.

“Mr. President established a 24-hour communication hotline between himself, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the mission in South Africa. He demanded updates every single minute.”

When South African authorities begged the Nigerian government to halt the evacuation to save face, President Tinubu flatly refused to compromise on the safety of his citizens.

“It got to a stage where he said he was no longer going to listen to their appeals. He directed that every Nigerian who wanted to come home voluntarily should be brought back immediately,” Ajayi added.

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A Firm Stance on Retaliation and Diplomacy

The President’s aggressive rescue mission comes amidst a widening diplomatic rift between Abuja and Pretoria. Under President Tinubu’s directive, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken its toughest stance yet against South Africa’s handling of the crisis.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, confirmed that economic retaliation—including the potential suspension of licenses for major South African corporations operating in Nigeria, such as MTN and DSTV—remains firmly “on the table.”

“Our citizens’ properties are being looted and the police refuse to do anything,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu said, rejecting South Africa’s claims that the targets were illegal migrants. She noted that President Tinubu ordered crisis notification units to be set up across all nine regions of South Africa to map out and protect imperiled Nigerians.

Welcomed Home to a Fresh Start

At the Lagos airport, the returnees—many of whom shared harrowing stories of being beaten, robbed of their businesses, and watching neighbors get shot—were met by high-ranking administration officials.

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Welcoming the citizens on behalf of the President, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye, assured the returnees that the administration is aggressively pushing domestic reforms to ensure Nigerians only travel abroad for leisure, not survival.

To ensure seamless reintegration, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, announced that the Federal Government has partnered with the Refugee Commission and the private sector to provide immediate documentation, including National Identification Numbers (NIN), to help the returnees open bank accounts and register SIM cards.

In alignment with the federal initiative, the Imo State Government has already pledged ₦1 million in direct cash support to every indigene of the state among the returnees to help them restart their businesses.

The second batch of evacuees is scheduled to land in Lagos on Monday, June 15, as President Tinubu’s mandated evacuation pipeline continues.

(Additional reporting by Ngozi Nwoke, from the Saturday Sun)

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