Nigerians recently repatriated from South Africa have described a climate of intense xenophobia marked by extortion, discrimination, harassment, and threats of violence. Their accounts highlight why many African migrants are now choosing to return home.
Upon arriving in Lagos, returnees like Chukwuemeka Chris Okeke expressed relief at being back. “There is no place like home,” Okeke said, thanking the Nigerian government and private supporters who helped facilitate their evacuation. He described the situation in South Africa as increasingly unbearable for many African migrants.
Emmanuel Nwachukwu, who spent ten years in South Africa, offered a more detailed and disturbing picture. He claimed that hostility toward foreigners, especially Nigerians has worsened, with some groups openly threatening violence. “They said they will start shooting at the remaining people who do not want to go home,” he alleged.
Nwachukwu said Nigerians are routinely targeted by police and security agencies for extortion once their nationality is known. “Once they know you are a Nigerian, police and other security agencies will come to extort you. Day in and day out they are doing that,” he stated.
A major source of vulnerability, according to the returnees, is the difficulty of obtaining or renewing legal documents. While many Nigerians are technically in the country illegally, Nwachukwu argued that the authorities deliberately create barriers to legalisation. “They say we are staying illegally, but they are not giving people documents,” he explained. This situation, he claimed, allows officials to repeatedly harass and extract money from migrants without ever regularising their status.
Even those attempting to leave face obstacles. Nwachukwu alleged that immigration officials at the airport often cite incomplete documentation as a reason to block departures or send people back into detention. “They are recycling people as slaves in that country,” he said.
The returnees also pointed to social and ethnic tensions as drivers of violence, particularly from some Zulu communities who accuse Nigerians of taking local jobs and partners. Nwachukwu expressed deep frustration at the attacks by fellow Africans. “How can a black man attack a fellow black man on the African continent?”
Despite their ordeals, both men struck notes of hope and patriotism. Nwachukwu advised Nigerians still in South Africa to set aside pride or shame and return home. “There are many Nigerians who don’t want to come back because of shame… Forget the shame and let’s go home. No place like home,” he urged.
Okeke echoed this sentiment, calling on Nigerians to work together to build a better future at home: “I appeal to Nigerians, let’s join hands together to make Nigeria great.”
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