Xenophobic Attacks: Oshiomhole Pushes Economic Sanction Against South Africa

By Omoyeni Ojeifo

Sen. Adams Oshiomhole has renewed his call for economic sanctions against South Africa following recurring xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in the country.

The senator representing Edo North district in the 10th National Assembly argued that successive Nigerian governments have failed to respond firmly to the crisis.

Appearing on Channels Television in an interview monitored by Persecondnews on Wednesday, Oshiomhole said Nigeria could no longer continue with what he described as “old-fashioned diplomacy” while Nigerians and their businesses remain targets of attacks and looting in South Africa.

The senator contended that South African businesses in Nigeria shouldn’t be shielded from economic blowback, pointing out that the Nigerians targeted in South Africa are private individuals, not government officials.

“Those Nigerians being killed in South Africa whose shops have been looted are not Nigerian government-owned businesses. They are owned by Nigerian citizens,” he said.

Oshiomhole maintained that Nigeria must adopt stronger economic tools to protect its citizens and interests abroad.

“We should not only bark, we should bite. We should deploy different tools to deal with a recurring problem that diplomacy in the traditional sense of the word has not solved,” he said.

The former Edo State governor also criticised previous administrations for what he described as weak diplomatic responses centred on meetings, communiqués and appeals without concrete consequences.

According to him, Nigeria’s foreign policy should place Nigerians and Nigerian interests at the centre of diplomatic engagement.

Oshiomhole further argued that Nigerians possess the entrepreneurial and managerial capacity to run major corporations operating in the country, dismissing suggestions that local investors cannot manage multinational businesses.

He cited Nigerian telecommunications giant, owned by Mike Adenuga, as an example of a successful indigenous company competing in a sector dominated by foreign firms.

“If we crash that South African businesses,people like Peter Obi can take it over. I took time to understand the way in which multinationals work. The same person can bear different names in different countries.”

The senator insisted that the Nigerian state has a responsibility to defend its citizens and businesses wherever they are threatened.

Persecondnews recalls that Oshiomhole had last week called for tougher economic measures against South African interests in Nigeria following renewed xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and their businesses in South Africa.