Nigeria’s Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima, on Monday said the Nigerian government and its people would no longer tolerate any form of needless attacks on and inhuman treatment of Nigerian citizens by any government.
This is just as he reiterated Nigeria’s strong opposition to xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa, insisting that the country would no longer condone mistreatment of its citizens.
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Speaking to journalists shortly before he departed Luanda, the Angolan capital, for Nigeria after the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), Shettima who represented President Bola Tinubu at the summit condemned the attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
“Those whose palm kernels were cracked by benevolent spirits should learn to be humble. We were part of the struggle for the liberation of our brothers and sisters in southern Africa, and we feel personally pained that our people have been picked up for humiliation,” the Vice-President said.
“The government and people of Nigeria will no longer countenance a situation whereby our people are dehumanised and put into very, very unacceptable situations.
“But we believe in having very robust conversations with our South African brothers. We don’t want to overheat the polity, but once in a while you have to make it very clear, vehemently clear, that certain situations are unacceptable, and we’ll work things out,” he added.
Shettima, while condemning the xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks, urged South African authorities to protect lives and uphold human dignity in the enforcement of the country’s immigration policies.
Nigerians and other Africans have become targets of attacks in some parts of South Africa leading to various governments, including Nigeria, evacuating their people from the country.
