Nigeria has commenced the evacuation of its nationals from South Africa following a surge in anti-migrant violence that has left at least five dead and hundreds displaced. The British consulate in Johannesburg has issued an alert for UK citizens, advising vigilance as tensions escalate. The evacuation, announced late Thursday by Nigeria’s foreign ministry, will see hundreds of Nigerians flown home over the weekend, with priority given to women and those in volatile areas like Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The violence, rooted in economic frustrations and xenophobic rhetoric, mirrors the 2015 attacks that targeted African migrants, but this time the digital footprint is larger: social media has amplified calls for attacks, with WhatsApp groups and Telegram channels coordinating looting. Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, condemned the attacks as “barbaric” and demanded compensation from South African authorities. Meanwhile, the British High Commission in Pretoria updated its travel advice, warning that “localised violence can erupt without warning.
” This crisis tests the delicate balance of pan-African solidarity versus national sovereignty, a tension that has long simmered beneath the surface of the continent’s most industrialised economy.
