Nans warns South Africa's President Jacob Zuma to stay away from Buhari's swearing-in

SOUTH Africa's President Jacob Zuma has been warned by the National Association of Nigerian Students (Nans) not to attend the inauguration of General Muhammadu Buhari on May 29 for failing to apologise for the recent xenophobic attacks in his country.

 

Last month, irate South Africans carried out a series of violent xenophobic attacks against African migrants in the country, killing at least seven. Until international pressure to stem the crisis, the South African government called out its army to stop the carnage and established displaced persons camps for the affected victims.

 

President Zuma apologised to Mozambique after at least one of its nationals was killed but so far, has not apologised to Nigeria. Although there is no record of any Nigerian being killed in the attacks, several Nigerian businesses were destroyed during the mayhem and it is not yet clear if the victims will be compensated.

 

Unhappy with the refusal of President Zuma to apologise to Nigeria, Nans has threatened to storm the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, should he step into the country. According to Nans, President Zuma should keep off as his visit will be an insult to the sensibility of Nigerians over his alleged poor handling of the xenophobic attacks.

 

Nans president, Tijani Usman, said: "We wish to advise the South African President Jacob Zuma to stay at home and address burning issues rather than embarking on a visit that is the least desirable. President Zuma’s inability to apologise to Nigerians like he did to Mozambique, despite the sacrifices the country made for South Africa, was unfortunate.

 

 “The South African president’s failure to apologise to Nigeria for the losses the country and our citizens incurred during the xenophobic attacks on foreigners leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. There is therefore, no point felicitating with a people who clearly do not matter much to you, so President Zuma’s visit will only amount to pretence.”

 

Mr Usman restated Nans' earlier position that it will henceforth not hesitate to clamp down on South African investments in the country should any incident of xenophobic attacks recur. Several Nigerian bodies have asked for the South African government to reimburse all the losses suffered by Nigerians during the attacks.