Nigeria’s high commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, says Nigeria will not sever ties with South Africa over xenophobic attacks, urging South Africa to replace anti-foreigner sentiment with Pan-Africanism.
Speaking at the inaugural Nigerian fair at the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg, he frames xenophobic hostility as harmful to the spirit of solidarity associated with the anti-apartheid struggle. He recalls that South Africa’s liberation involved support from across Africa, including Nigeria, and points to the continued connection between the countries.
Fani-Kayode also describes the attacks on Nigerians and other African nationals as “retrograde” or “primitive” sentiment and calls for unity as “the world is coming together as one.” Some coverage emphasizes warnings about the impact of worsening xenophobia on relations, while other accounts focus more directly on his call to adopt Pan-Africanism and reject xenophobia. Across sources, the central theme is a diplomatic appeal for solidarity rather than rupture.
