A South Africa-based Nigerian lawyer, Ugochukwu Anyiam, has called on the Federal Government to intensity efforts to evacuate more Nigerians and also protect those who are willing and capable of returning home on their own from harassment and arrest at the airport.
He made the call while appearing as a guest on Arise News breakfast programme on Saturday.
Anyiam, a lawyer with Anyiam Attorneys Inc., appreciated the Federal Government for its intervention so far but said the government needs to do more.
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“We highly appreciate that the Federal Government has done something to show that they care about their people in South Africa, people in crisis, people that are facing hostilities, but the government can still do more. It needs to do more because there are thousands of people who are out here who need to go home and can’t go home for one reason or the other,” he said.
There have been eight batches of evacuation of Nigerians from South Africa so far. Out of this number, Anyiam clarified that the Federal Government has officially done five while the others were either sponsored or subsidised by Air Peace, ValueJet Airlines, or Igbo Lawyers Association. Specifically, he said the association sponsored the evacuation of 33 Nigerians.
Turning to an aspect of the crisis that, according to him, has not been well spoken about, Anyiam, who is the outgoing president of Igbo Lawyers Association, said many Nigerians who can afford to go home on their own are afraid to go because they are arrested for lack of proper documentation when they get to airport.
“There are a lot of Nigerians here who would want to leave of their own accord. They have the fund to buy their ticket and go home but they are not able to go home because there are procedural requirements for them to go home. For instance, there are a lot of people who don’t have their papers and the people want them to leave, but they can’t leave on their own simply because when they get to the airport they are arrested because they don’t have papers,” Anyiam said.
“That drives me crazy because I ask a simple question: how do you ask somebody to leave your country and then turn around at the point of exit to arrest this person for leaving because you asked them to leave? You are arresting them for not having papers, but that’s the same reason they are leaving in the first place,” he said.
While acknowledging the rights of countries to regulate immigration and that consequences follow violation of such regulations, Anyiam said at this point where people are being forced to leave, Nigeria should seek a blanket waiver from the South African government for any Nigerian who wants to leave and they shouldn’t be afraid of getting to the airport.
“The government of Nigeria needs to come onboard, have a negotiation with the government of South Africa and get them informed that there are Nigerians who want to leave. Yes, they are undocumented, they can buy their own tickets, but why are they arrested when they get to the airport? It’s double standards,” he said.
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He also urged well-to-do private individuals, corporate organizations and faith-based groups to also intervene in evacuating more Nigerians, not as a responsibility but as part of being human and caring for others.
“I’m not expecting the private sector to come from the point of being responsible, no, but this is a humanitarian crisis, you expect them to show concern and show love, show that you are a true Nigerian,” he said.
Responding to a question about whether Nigeria should seek retaliation against South Africa, Anyiam said he didn’t think that was necessary.
“Retaliatory measures are not necessary. If you are going to retaliate because of what they have done wrong, because of their hostilities, then you are not any different from them. If you say they’ve done something wrong, then you go ahead to retaliate, that cohesion we seek in Africa you’ve not taken steps around it. So, I don’t agree with any retaliatory measures. It’s not necessary. And what is there to achieve if you retaliate?” he asked.
Instead, he reiterated what the Nigerian government must do more of to help the situation.
“One, send more flights to evacuate people. Two, while people are waiting to be evacuated, they should not be harassed. When people choose to leave on their own and they are at the airport, they should not be arrested. Those are the things,” Anyiam said.
“So it’s not a question of being responsible. It’s a question of a very extraordinary situation that demands extraordinary measures to address,”:he said.
