Xenophobic attacks: NANS threatens protest against S’African firms in Nigeria 

By Nkiruka Nnorom & Favour Ulebor

The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, South West Zone D, said yesterday it planned to protest and stage demonstrations at South African businesses in Nigeria after fresh xenophobic attacks that reportedly led to the death of Nigerians.

This came on a day South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, dismissed claims of xenophobic attacks against other African nationals by locals, despite overwhelming evidence to that effect.

His dismissal came amid growing diplomatic pressure from several African countries whose citizens are constantly exposed to xenophobic violence in the country and the calls for Pretoria to take concrete and decisive steps to address the lingering problem.

Countries, such as  Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania, have either increased diplomatic measures, with a view to forcing Pretoria to hold perpetrators of xenophobic attacks responsible for their actions, while others have threatened to retaliate through economic sanctions.   

This came as controversial anti-migrant movement, March and March, yesterday continued its protests in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, targeting undocumented foreign nationals.

But in a statement signed by the Coordinator, South West zone, Comrade Adeyemo Josiah Kayode, NANS expressed outrage over what it described as a recurring pattern of violence against Nigerians residing in South Africa.

It noted that the recent killing of two Nigerians underscored the persistent insecurity faced by foreign nationals.

The students’ body said it was mobilising its members for peaceful demonstrations and mass advocacy targeting major South African linked companies operating in Nigeria, including MTN Group and MultiChoice Group.

The association called on the South African government and relevant authorities to take urgent steps to halt the attacks and ensure justice for victims, stressing that the safety and dignity of Nigerians abroad must be guaranteed.

NANS further warned that silence or delayed responses from authorities would not be acceptable, even as it maintained that it remains open to dialogue and constructive engagement with South African business representatives and diplomatic channels to address the crisis.

The group, however, made it clear that Nigerian students would not stand by while their compatriots continue to face threats to their lives.

The statement reads in part, “We categorically state that the continued targeting of Nigerians under any guise is unacceptable and must come to an immediate end.

“The recent killing of two Nigerians is not just an isolated tragedy but a painful reminder of a recurring pattern of hostility and violence against our people.

“This will include major corporations such as MTN Group and MultiChoice Group. It is morally indefensible for businesses to thrive in an environment where the lives of Nigerians are protected, while Nigerians are subjected to fear and violence elsewhere.  This contradiction will no longer be tolerated.

“Silence, delayed responses, or symbolic gestures will not suffice. The safety, dignity and rights of Nigerians must be guaranteed, not negotiated.”

Nigeria must lead Africa’s integration — Prof Omorogbe

By Nkiruka Nnorom

Legal scholar and en

ergy expert, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, has urged the Frderal Government to take the lead in driving Africa’s economic integration.

Speaking  at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Foreign Policy Lecture Series in Lagos, Prof. Omorogbe called on the government to adopt a new approach to diplomacy that’s focused on practical action rather than past liberation efforts and challenged policymakers to rethink Nigeria’s role on the continent.

Delivering a keynote address with the theme: “The Power of Union: Nigeria, Integrated Markets and the African Century”, she argued that Africa’s prosperity would only come through deliberate implementation rather than mere aspiration and . 

The lecture, attended by prominent figures including former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Senator Daisy Danjuma, UAE Consul-General Salem Aljaberi, and NIIA Director-General Prof. Femi Otubanjo, centered on Nigeria’s capacity to anchor Africa’s economic transformation.

She noted the African Century represents the opportunity to convert the continent’s population, resources, markets and creativity into shared prosperity, but warned that it was “neither a prophecy nor a guaranteed fact,” describing it instead as a challenge that must not be wasted.

To achieve this, she said Nigeria must move beyond size and potential, which do not automatically translate to leadership or strategy. 

She identified five roles Nigeria must play as a continental anchor, including transiting to a production hub that manufactures for Africa rather than relying on imports; an energy hub leveraging gas, power, refining and renewables as strategic instruments; a financial hub using its banking footprints to fund integration; a legal and regulatory hub that shapes contracts, standards and arbitration across the continent; and a diplomatic hub that shifts from liberation diplomacy to implementation-driven integration diplomacy.

She described the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, and energy integration as the twin engines of the transformation. 

While AfCFTA is a vehicle for structural change, she stressed it goes beyond cross-border trade to building industrialisation and regional value chains. 

Highlighting Nigeria’s domestic paradox, she noted that despite its vast resources, about four in ten Nigerians still lacked access to electricity, saying: “Without affordable energy, development remains a pipe dream.”

Omorogbe also stressed that Nigeria cannot export integration if it has not built it at home. She called for urgent reforms to tackle insecurity, high logistics costs, port congestion and unreliable power supply.

To move from declarations to delivery, she outlined a 10-point action agenda. This includes making AfCFTA a national strategy rather than a single ministry’s file, aligning gas, power and refining policies with regional energy diplomacy, pursuing electricity reform with continental 

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