Tycoon Tony Elumelu calls on Nigerian government to protect citizens as South Africa xenophobia escalates

Tony Elumelu, chairman of United Bank for Africa and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, has called on Nigeria's federal government and security agencies to take action to protect Nigerian nationals caught in the escalating wave of anti-migrant violence in South Africa.

The call comes as the situation on the ground has deteriorated rapidly. Anti-migrant groups, including March and March and Operation Dudula, have staged a series of large protests in Pretoria, Johannesburg, and other major cities, targeting foreign-owned businesses and foreign nationals. Nigerians and Ghanaians have been among the primary targets. The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, led by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, issued a formal statement on April 29 warning that the situation was "deteriorating" and that Nigerians were increasingly living in fear, with daily activities severely disrupted.

The Nigerian Union in South Africa has told its members to close their shops and remain indoors. Ghana's diplomatic mission issued a similar advisory. The protests drew condemnation from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who called the violence "criminal acts," and reminded South Africans of the solidarity other African nations showed during the struggle against apartheid. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has separately called on the South African government to investigate attacks, prosecute perpetrators, and dismantle the vigilante groups organizing them.

This is not South Africa's first xenophobia crisis. Similar outbreaks struck in 2015 and 2019, when dozens of Nigerians were attacked, shops were burned, and the Nigerian government eventually arranged emergency evacuations. South Africa carries the continent's highest unemployment rate, at around 33 percent, and anti-migrant rhetoric has long found political traction in that context. President Cyril Ramaphosa used his Freedom Day address on April 27 to condemn attacks on foreigners, but the protests continued the following day.

For Elumelu, whose UBA operates branches in 20 African countries including South Africa, and whose foundation has invested in thousands of African entrepreneurs across the continent, the violence carries both a personal and a commercial dimension. South African companies with large pan-African footprints, including MTN and Standard Bank, have also been warned that retaliatory action from other African governments could follow if the situation is not contained.