Few days after the postponement of evacuation of Nigerians in South Africa due to non availability of travelling documents, Wednesday has been announced as a new day for the commencement of the evacuation exercise as gathered.
This offer to airlift Nigerians willing to return home after recent attacks on Nigerians and their businesses by South Africans was made by Air Peace.
While reacting to this new development, Prince Ben Okoli, president, Nigeria Citizens Association, South Africa (NICASA) disclosed that all efforts are geared towards evacuation of those who are ready to come back home.
Though he was unable to put figure to the number of affected Nigerians, Okoli however said the figure is in hundreds as many have lost their means of livelihood and nothing to fall back to.
The association, he said is however still pushing ahead for the demand of compensation as there are sufficient available to them that the attacks were premeditated and orchestrate.
He also noted that normalcy is gradually returning, there is no longer tension, or violence against any set of people. The violence and hostility have ceased.
“So many Nigerian have been affected by this and lots have been highly distressed and nothing to fall back to. So some of them affected have decided to call it quit to go back to Nigeria.
“Presently, we are collating the data of Nigerians that are to be evacuated back to Nigeria because the first batch will be leaving sometime early next week.“Well we have it on a good record that they will be leaving on Wednesday.”
On compensation, he said that the South African Government has remained adamant, they have not acknowledge it as xenophobia.
They continue to call it criminality and we do not understand why they continue to push the narrative of criminality since it is very obvious and plain and simple for even illustrates to understand that this is purely xenophobic.
