The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has issued a four-day ultimatum to South African businesses operating in Nigeria, demanding that they leave the country over what it described as the continued harassment and attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa.
In a statement issued in Enugu, the association’s National Executive Director for Corporate and Private Sectors Engagement, Bestman Okereafor, accused South Africa of failing to protect Nigerians and other African nationals from recurring xenophobic violence.
According to NANS, it is unacceptable for South African companies to continue operating profitably in Nigeria while Nigerians are allegedly subjected to intimidation, assaults and discrimination in South Africa.
The students’ body warned that if the ultimatum expires without any action, it would mobilise its members nationwide to begin protests and picketing of South African-owned businesses across the country.
NANS said the planned action was intended to draw attention to what it described as the persistent mistreatment of Nigerians abroad and to demand greater accountability from South African authorities.
The association also urged the Federal Government and the African Union to take stronger diplomatic and political measures to address repeated xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and other African migrants.
It further recalled Nigeria’s significant contribution to South Africa’s struggle against apartheid, arguing that the country’s support should not be repaid with hostility toward Nigerian citizens.
The latest threat follows renewed concerns over attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa, where several Nigerians have reportedly been assaulted, displaced or killed in previous waves of xenophobic violence.
In response to earlier incidents, the Federal Government had evacuated hundreds of stranded Nigerians from South Africa through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
