Xenophobia Ramaphosa

Nigerian President To Visit SA To Smooth Over Diplomatic Tensions

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 03:27 pm

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to visit South Africa in October to “reinforce strong bonds”, following a spate of attacks against West Africans.

The Presidency said on Saturday that the two countries would “jointly develop responses to challenges affecting people and businesses in South Africa and Nigeria”.

The South African embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, closed its doors on Wednesday after it came under attack.

Some South African businesses operating in Nigeria, including MTN, also closed until further notice after they were attacked.

Poor diplomatic relations between the two African countries comes after Nigeria introduced plans to evacuate its nationals in South Africa following a wave of attacks on foreigners, including Nigerians.

President Cyril Ramaphosa held discussions on Friday with Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the special envoy of Buhari.