Frustration reached a boiling point among Nigerian citizens currently stranded in South Africa as sharp divisions emerged over the federal government’s handling of their repatriation.
The brewing tension was captured in a video, showing a stark contrast between official diplomatic appeals and the raw anger of citizens left waiting in difficult conditions during the winter season.
The confrontation began during an address by Amb. Ninikanwa Okey-Uche, the Nigerian Consul General to South Africa. Attempting to rally the crowd into a show of gratitude and patience, Okey-Uche led a call-and-response, urging those present to thank the administration.
”I want to hear you say thank you Mr. President,” Okey-Uche told the gathering, prompting a echoed response from a segment of the crowd. She continued, “We see the good thing you’re doing, and we are just pleading to fast track it. Now, that is a valid message.”
However, the call for gratitude was quickly disrupted by prominent community leader Ikye Okwuakwu, the Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Gauteng. Okwuakwu openly rejected the diplomatic narrative, stepping forward to voice the growing desperation of the stranded citizens.
”Thank you for what?” Okwuakwu countered, pointing out that neighboring nations have been far more efficient in protecting their nationals. “Malawi’s government are steadily taking their people home. Zimbabweans are steadily taking their people home. Mozambicans are steadily taking their people home. Our people are asked to leave their homes and come here to be lifted.”
Okwuakwu highlighted the severe financial and logistical toll the delay has taken on families, explaining that unlike in Nigeria where rent is paid annually, tenants in South Africa pay monthly. Trusting official evacuation plans, many had already terminated their leases and sold their belongings.
”People have told their landlord ‘Bye-bye, I’m not renewing my rent’ and they have moved, only to be stranded here,” he said. “You asked us to come out on winter, women and children on winter, and they are here stranded.”
The community leader leveled harsh criticism against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing political leaders in Abuja of being detached from the realities faced by the diaspora.
”If Tinubu cannot fix Nigeria… he can’t fix Nigeria at home, he cannot help Nigeria in the diaspora, so why do we say we have a government?” Okwuakwu argued, demanding accountability. “He said, ‘Please, elect me, and I’m going to save Nigeria.’ You are elected and you are doing nothing.”
The stranded citizens noted that despite a plane supposedly being arranged, they remain stuck on the ground with no clear timeline, while other African nations continue to successfully evacuate their citizens.
