The Federal Government has accepted the apology tendered by the South African government over the deportation of 125 Nigerians last Friday.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, yesterday in Abuja.
Addressing the media, Ashiru said that the diplomatic row between the two countries is over and they have promised to erect a lasting framework that will forestall such incident from happening again.
He said, “With this formal apology from the South African government, I would now finally say that we are going to move forward and consolidate on our relations.
“We took immediate steps to protect the interest of Nigerians as what the South Africans did is unAfrican. We have never seen that kind of treatment meted out to any other nationals; deporting 125 persons in two days.”
A total of 131 South Africans were deported in retaliation by Nigerian authorities for issues bordering on poor documentation.
“The South African President [Jacob Zuma] will dispatch a special envoy in the next couple of days to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan and convey his regret at the unfortunate incidence that has constituted an irritant in relations between our two sister nations,” Ashiru said.“My South African colleague and I are agreed that one of the ways in which we can avoid incidents that are harmful to our relationship, is to make use of the bilateral structures that already exist, such as the Bilateral National Commission (BNC).
He said that part of the discussions will focus on retraining the immigration officers and police in dealing with immigrants as the two institutions by their indiscretion fuelled the diplomatic row.
On the fate of the deported passengers given the inconvenience they had been subjected to, the Minister said that the issue will be addressed in the discussions between the two countries.
However, he denied that the disagreement between Nigeria and South Africa over the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire and Libya and the botched African Union Commission election for a chairman fuelled the deportations, explaining, “These are separate issues.
Our stand on Cote d’Ivoire and Libya has been justified by events. With respect to the AU election, South Africa broke a gentlemanly agreement that big nations should not vie for the chairmanship of the AU Commission.”
In his contribution, the Minister for State (2) for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Muhammad, said Nigeria will no longer accept the maltreatment of its citizens anywhere in the world.
Muhammad said, “The era of big brother is gone. Now it is tit for tat. So it’s not about South Africa but about any other nation.
Time has gone when Nigerians are maltreated for no just reason. We will not stand by and watch Nigerians maltreated for flimsy excuses. This is a message to all the countries of the world.” However, he urged Nigerians to be of good behaviour wherever they may be.
The apology
South Africa had at noon yesterday in Pretoria, its capital, apologized for the deportation through its Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim.
Apologising, Ebrahim, flanked by two diplomats from the Nigerian High Commission, said, “We are apologising because we deported a number of people who should not have been deported. We apologise for this unfortunate incident and we hope this matter will not in any way affect our bilateral relations.
"We've put into place certain mechanisms to ensure this doesn't happen again, and we believe that this matter is closed. We are in contact with the embassy in Nigeria, to see that there are no longer problems, and that any difficulties over vaccination certificates are dealt with before a visa is issued. We understand the reaction of the Nigerian authorities.”
South Africa, the richest country is Africa, is struggling with its reputation for xenophobia - a perception that was reinforced after nationwide attacks on immigrants left 62 dead in 2008.
Also, a minister with the South African Presidency, Collins Chabane, told reporters in Cape Town, early yesterday, that South African cabinet expressed shock at reports, “regarding how African foreign nationals, particularly Nigerians, and other nationals from other parts of the world have been treated" at Johannesburg's main airport.
The joint statement
In a joint statement made by Nigeria and South Africa, they agreed to revive the BNC and Immigration Working Group as soon as possible.
Also, South Africa’s National Department of Health should consider re-opening the vaccination clinic at the Oliver Tambo International Airport so that passengers without the yellow fever card can be vaccinated upon arrival at the airport, rather than be deported.
The two countries also agreed to exchange vaccine batch numbers and details about the official institutions that administer the vaccine for verification purposes at the port of entry and visas will be issued based on the proof of a yellow fever certificate. The airlines will also be informed about the verification process.
They also agreed that immigration officials, who are the first officials to deal with passengers at point of entry, should invite other units (like health) to help if there are challenges and not the other way round.
Finally, when it comes to mass deportations, immigration and health officials should consult with senior foreign ministry officials before taking any action.
Also the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, yesterday, ordered the House committee on Foreign Affairs to submit a report on the matter in three weeks.
The order was subsequent to a Bill sponsored by Honourable Bimbo Daramola (Ekiti/ACN) seeking a critical review of Nigerian - South African Bilateral Relations on economic interest and associated issues.
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