Buhari’s visit to South Africa over xenophobic attacks disgraceful —HURIWA

The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has been condemned by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), for visiting South Africa over recent xenophobic attacks.

HURIWA in a statement issued on Friday said President Buhari’s visit is disgraceful and has exposed Nigeria to international ridicule, thereby cheapening the rating of the country before the eyes of the world.

The group in the statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, also condemned the lacklustre approach of the federal government towards the persistent xenophobic killings of Nigerians by black South Africans in the former apartheid enclave.

The group stated that the “President couldn’t have gone on this visit but would have explored the African Union and the United Nations to arrive at concrete actions to end xenophobic violence in South Africa instead of visiting the same place whereby hundreds of citizens were displaced and many killed as if the victims of such a devastating crimes are now supposed to beg the aggressors.”

HURIWA also accused the media minders of the Presidency and the Foreign Affairs Ministry of not being economical with the truth and speaking from both sides of the mouth over the matter.

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“It is totally incorrect that the government lied to Nigerians that the current visit to South Africa by President Buhari was because of the recent xenophobic violence arguing that shouldn’t have been the case, because if it is then the president couldn’t have embarked on signing of bilateral agreements with the South African President and even reprimanding the frightened Nigerians in South Africa but would have gone ahead to protest the destruction and killings of Nigerians in South Africa and to demand compensation for the victims of the xenophobia.”

“There was absolutely no need for this patronizing and cheap visit by the Nigerian President to a country that has killed our citizens,” the group said.

HURIWA also added that; “This visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to South Africa doesn’t just add up except there are Other personal issues that the Nigerian President went to attend to in South Africa but the way he has conducted the thoughtless visit is disastrous.

“This current federal administration is either very poor in keeping records or may actually be viewing Nigerians as zombies. Months ago, in fact last year June or July, the government announced that the South African president who had visited Nigeria had invited president Buhari to visit South Africa. but months after that visit by Cyril Ramaphosa to Nigeria, black south Africans staged the latest rounds of xenophobic violence in which many Nigerians were wounded, their hard-earned business assets either burnt, stolen or destroyed and over one thousands of them were flown home due to the generosity of the Air Peace airlines with the authorisation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“But President Buhari’s officials went on to lie in between their cheeks that the visit of President Buhari which was earlier scheduled was now no longer on the strength of the earlier reciprocal invitation by south Africa but was to protest the xenophobic killings. But from all indications and by their own reports, the president only just mentioned the matter of the xenophobic killings in passing; but actually demonstrated that he was in South Africa on an elaborate state visit with the signing of several bilateral trade treaties. This is not how to speak out and defend our citizens who have lost their lives and livelihood,” the statement by the group noted.

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