By: Odeh Favour Adiya
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has strongly advised Nigerians to completely halt their investments in South Africa as a tactical response to the persistent xenophobic attacks targeted at African migrants, particularly Nigerians living in the country.
Onyema, who spoke during an interview on Arise Television, explicitly clarified that his call is for a non-violent economic boycott rather than physical or destructive retaliation against South African interests within Nigeria. He encouraged business owners to instead look inwards and invest their capital at home under guidelines set by the Federal Government.
Expressing his preferred approach to the lingering crisis, the airline boss stated, “I support (Edo Senator) Adams Oshiomhole, who says that we should retaliate. But the kind of retaliation I want is what we are doing. Let us do non-violence retaliation. I don’t want Nigerians to go to the street and attack any South Africans.
The kind of retaliation I want is for Nigerians to boycott South Africa. Don’t invest in that country. If they want to invest in our country, let them bring their money and invest, and you determine how they take the money back. That is non-violence action.”
The Air Peace chief did not mince words as he slammed the South African authorities, accusing them of failing to proactively protect foreign nationals whenever public unrest breaks out. He raised serious concerns over the apparent docility of security agencies during these attacks.
He expressed his frustration, saying, “I totally agree that there should be a stop to foolishness. Every time they do this, and they get the support of their government. I don’t understand how all of a sudden South Africa lacked police force, lacked the military, lacked every security agency that could have stopped these people. How do you explain where people will march into somebody’s house, bring you out, questioning you, ‘Can I see your papers? You are a foreigner. You have to go back home?’”
Onyema further highlighted that Nigerian migrants play a highly positive role in boosting the South African economy by setting up viable businesses and providing job opportunities for locals. He noted that rather than facing violence, these entrepreneurs should be seen as models for local capacity building.
Defending the value Nigerians bring to South Africa, he noted, “He brought money from Nigeria and opened a shop in your country to help your country and help you. The best you could have done is to learn from these Nigerians on how to acquire some entrepreneurial skills.”
While advocating for a firm economic stance and stronger diplomatic measures, the aviation executive strongly opposed any moves to shut down or vandalize South African companies operating within Nigeria, such as telecom giant MTN. He stressed that harming these entities would only end up hurting fellow citizens.
“I don’t want Nigeria to close down MTN or other people’s businesses. Some Nigerians have shares in those companies. After all, those people are employing Nigerians too,” he pointed out.
These remarks from the Air Peace boss come on the heels of fresh anti-foreigner protests sweeping through various parts of South Africa. Demonstrators have given undocumented migrants a June 30 deadline to exit the country, a development that has already triggered urgent evacuation and repatriation plans by Nigeria and other affected nations.
