The South African Consul-General to Nigeria, Prof. Bobby Moroe, has dismissed claims that some Nigerians are being attacked in South Africa because of their romantic relationships with South African women,
In an interview with Punch, Monroe said;
‘’It cannot be. We live in a constitutional democracy where everybody is allowed to exercise their freedoms, and nobody, no matter how they feel, is permitted to interfere with people’s preferences. Love knows no borders. I am quite aware of the popular narrative, but I do not think it is really true because South African men also fall in love with women from other countries. Our sisters may have very good reasons why they prefer Nigerian men, but it is a good thing because we are expanding. NigerianPolitics Coverage
This is a cultural issue that cannot be avoided. If you choose to marry someone, I do not think you make that choice because of nationality. It is also not true that South African men do not like Nigerian men. I am a classic example because of my association with Igbos. I have friends from the South-East, including Anambra and Abia states. I have an interest in Nigerian culture. Foreign nationals have been in South Africa for many years, but you also have South Africans who are foreigners in other countries, including myself. What most South Africans are complaining about is that some, not all, foreign nationals, including Nigerians, Ghanaians and others, do not respect the laws of the country. They stay in South Africa illegally, and concerns have also been raised about the risks associated with undocumented foreign nationals.
I do not think any country in the world would allow anybody to live within its borders illegally. But when South Africa raises concerns about that, we are called xenophob!c, and I think it is unfair to use that label without justification. When we raise issues that are of genuine concern to South Africans, and people go on peaceful marches, which the Constitution allows, they are labelled xenophob!c. When similar things happen elsewhere in the world, for example, in Ghana, where such issues are happening now, it is not called xenophob!a. We have realised that the term “xenophob!a” has become synonymous with South Africa alone, creating the notion that African unity must happen only in South Africa. I think many African countries have been very unfair to South Africa. By far, we are one of the biggest hosts of foreign nationals in Africa, even before 1994”
Monroe said it is unfair to accuse his country of Xenophobia. He recounted how a Nigerian who was to be arrested for dealing in banned substances, ingested the substance, later d!ed and his de@th was wrongly attributed to the Xenophobic attackers.
‘’One of the issues raised was alleged extrajudicial killings. I can give you a classic example of what happened a few weeks ago involving a Nigerian national who was to be arrested in Cape Town. He was accused of selling certain substances. Upon hearing that he was going to be arrested, he swallowed some of the substances.
Unfortunately, that caused severe complications, and he died before the arrival of the police. That was attributed to an extrajudicial k!lling. That is based on the report we received, but we do not know how accurate it is. Sometimes, you find that individuals resist arrest to the point of attacking law enforcement officers, who also have to protect themselves.
As a country, we take responsibility where necessary, but I think it would be very unfair for us to take responsibility for acts that have nothing to do with what we are supposed to be responsible for”