The Nigerian government will engage with the South African government to seek compensation for Nigerians forced to leave behind businesses and properties amid anti-immigrant protests in the country, Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, has said.

Ajayi disclosed this on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, as another batch of Nigerians was expected to arrive in Lagos from South Africa under the Federal Government’s ongoing voluntary evacuation programme.

He said those being repatriated are Nigerians who voluntarily opted to return home ahead of the latest planned anti-immigrant protests.

The envoy said the Federal Government had begun documenting businesses and properties abandoned by returnees and would engage the South African government to seek adequate compensation.

“In terms of the businesses, just three days ago, myself and the South African Deputy Minister of Finance were together and we were discussing this. I took up the discussion with her and we have agreed that we are going to ask our people who are returning to begin to document what they are leaving behind, and that was the message yesterday before this set that is due to land in Lagos.

“I have asked them before they left yesterday to document very accurately those things they were leaving behind in terms of businesses, in terms of even cars, movable and immovable properties. We can now take it up with the South African government. That is the next step we are going to take.

“So, this repatriation will not end with just taking people to Nigeria. We are going to systematically follow up on the information given to us, and I told them to be very accurate with what they are going to give because we are going to work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops and properties and present them to the South African government for possible compensation because we will not allow the labour people have suffered to build over the years to just go down the drain or be taken over by people,” Ajayi said.

The Acting High Commissioner also dismissed claims that most Nigerians in South Africa are undocumented, insisting that they largely migrated to the country legally.

He attributed the situation to delays by the South African Home Office in processing the renewal of immigration documents for many foreign nationals, saying the affected immigrants should not be blamed for the backlog.

“In the last three or four years there have been a deluge of applications at the South African Home Office which were not attended to due to systemic issues. So, because of this many, not only Nigerian nationals, were caught in this web of delay, so you cannot rightly claim that these were undocumented because most of them came to the country legally in terms of how somebody should migrate.

“So, it is on the basis of now wanting to renew their papers and get them when one expires that they were caught up in the unnecessary delays. So, when people try to say they were undocumented, I quite disagree with that because some of them, based on experience, have had their papers lag behind at the Home Office for years,” he said.

Meanwhile, an Air Peace aircraft departed Nigeria on Monday and was expected to return to Lagos on Tuesday morning with another group of Nigerians who opted for voluntary evacuation, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The latest evacuation comes as anti-immigration groups prepare to stage demonstrations from June 30. The Federal Government has continued its evacuation programme for Nigerians who have indicated a willingness to return home. (Channels)

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