Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, has disclosed that about 500 Nigerians remain stranded in South Africa and are scheduled to be evacuated next week following the repatriation of 861 citizens over the past three weeks.
Ajayi made the disclosure in an interview on Friday, stating that the remaining Nigerians who had indicated interest in returning home would be evacuated in the next phase of the government’s repatriation exercise.
“We have about 500 remaining, which we shall repatriate next week,” he said.
The announcement came as the Federal Government said the returnees would receive psychosocial and mental health counselling as part of a comprehensive reintegration programme designed to help them recover from the trauma of displacement and rebuild their lives.
The intervention will also include livelihood support, skills acquisition programmes and transportation to their respective states, amid growing concerns over xenophobia and immigration-related challenges faced by Nigerians in South Africa.
The first batch of 258 returnees arrived in Lagos aboard an Air Peace flight on 11 June, followed by 66 evacuees transported by ValueJet on 24 June. A further 271 Nigerians were repatriated on 30 June via Air Peace, while the fourth batch of 266 returnees arrived in Lagos on Friday.
Speaking while receiving the latest batch at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, the Director of Migration Affairs at the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Catherine Udida, said several ministries and government agencies had been mobilised to provide both immediate assistance and long-term support for the returnees.
She explained that each agency had been assigned specific responsibilities to facilitate the reintegration process.
“The Federal Government has made adequate arrangements for them through different agencies and ministries. They all have individual roles and responsibilities to play,” Udida said.
According to her, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will provide transportation from Lagos to the returnees’ respective states or locations nearest to their homes, while the NCFRMI will coordinate their rehabilitation and reintegration.
“For instance, NEMA is providing the vehicles to take the returnees to their respective states or locations close to their states, while the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, being the mandate agency on return, is providing durable solutions.
“That means we will provide livelihood support, skills training and, of course, psychosocial and mental health counselling because of the trauma they have experienced,” she added.
Udida revealed that the commission had already profiled more than 1,000 Nigerians for the intervention programme.
“Currently, we have profiled more than 1,000 persons, and they have been adequately catered for,” she said.
She also noted that Nigerian authorities had continued diplomatic engagements with the South African government to ensure the safety and welfare of Nigerians still residing in the country.
“There have been bilateral engagements between the governments of Nigeria and South Africa. So far, there has been continuous engagement to ensure the safety of all Nigerians in South Africa,” she added.
For many of the returnees, the evacuation marks the beginning of a fresh start after prolonged uncertainty.
One of them, 21-year-old Fola Kester, said he had lived in South Africa since the age of four but was unable to regularise his immigration status after his initial application was reportedly lost in the country’s system.
According to him, the documentation challenges prevented him from continuing his university education despite repeated efforts by his family to resolve the matter.
“I have been in South Africa since I was four. I’m now 21. I haven’t been able to get my papers. I had an initial application, but it was lost in the system. Once you have applied, you cannot reapply.
“My father tried to reach out to Home Affairs, but there was no response. I completed my first year at university but could not register for subsequent years because I had no documentation,” he said.
Kester said he eventually decided to leave South Africa after exhausting all available options, including engaging lawyers and repeatedly contacting the Department of Home Affairs.
“After trying everything, including lawyers and emailing Home Affairs, I realised I no longer had a life in South Africa. Without documentation, I had no access to opportunities. There was only silence from Home Affairs,” he added.
Although he said he was not personally affected by xenophobic violence, Kester noted that he had heard disturbing accounts from other Nigerians living in the country.
Another returnee, who identified himself simply as Obi, alleged that anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa often intensifies during election periods.
“I will urge Nigerians not to have anything to do in South Africa. They don’t like us. Once you mention you are Nigerian, they immediately develop hatred. It is political because whenever elections are around the corner, these things happen,” he claimed.
Despite his experience, Obi expressed appreciation to the Nigerian government for facilitating the evacuation of stranded citizens.
“I am happy with what the government has done. South Africans see many black foreign nationals as Nigerians. It is a natural hatred. In the 1990s, we were chased out of school because of apartheid. I was surprised when I got there,” he said.
