Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, has disclosed that about 500 Nigerians are still waiting to be evacuated from the country, even as the Federal Government continues the repatriation of stranded citizens.
Ajayi made the disclosure on Friday after the successful return of 861 Nigerians from South Africa within the last three weeks. He said arrangements were already in place to bring back the remaining evacuees, adding that the next batch is expected to arrive next week.
The evacuation exercise has so far taken place in phases. The first batch of 258 returnees landed in Lagos on June 11 aboard an Air Peace flight. That was followed by another 66 Nigerians evacuated by ValueJet on June 24. On June 30, Air Peace returned 271 more persons, while the fourth batch of 266 Nigerians arrived in Lagos on Friday.
Speaking while receiving the latest group of returnees at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, the Director of Migration Affairs at the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Catherine Udida, said the government had put support measures in place to help them settle back into life in Nigeria.
She explained that the intervention would go beyond transportation, noting that the returnees would receive psychosocial support, mental health counselling, skills training and livelihood assistance to help them reintegrate. According to her, several government agencies and ministries have been assigned specific responsibilities to ensure that those returning are properly cared for.
Udida said the National Emergency Management Agency would provide transportation to take the returnees to their home states or locations close to them, while the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs would handle longer term support aimed at helping them rebuild their lives after the experience in South Africa.
She added that more than 1,000 Nigerians had already been profiled for the intervention and assured that those affected were being adequately attended to through the coordinated efforts of the government.
Udida also said Nigeria had maintained diplomatic engagement with the South African authorities to protect the interests and safety of Nigerians who are still living in the country. According to her, discussions between both governments have remained ongoing and have helped sustain efforts to safeguard citizens caught in the crisis.
Some of the returnees who arrived in Lagos shared painful accounts of their time in South Africa, describing years of frustration, uncertainty and rejection.
One of them, 21 year old Fola Kester, said he had lived in South Africa since the age of four but was eventually forced to leave because he could not secure the legal documents needed to continue living and studying there.
He explained that although he had once submitted an application for documentation, it was reportedly lost in the system, leaving him trapped in a situation he could not resolve. Kester said efforts by his father to reach South Africa’s Home Affairs office yielded no result, and the lack of proper papers eventually disrupted his university education after he completed his first year.
According to him, after exhausting all available options, including contacting lawyers and sending repeated emails to the relevant authorities, he came to the conclusion that he had no future left in South Africa. He said living without documentation denied him access to opportunities and left him feeling invisible.
Another returnee, identified simply as Obi, alleged that many Nigerians face open hostility in South Africa and claimed the tension often worsens whenever elections draw near in the country.
He said black foreigners are frequently profiled and unfairly treated, with many South Africans assuming they are Nigerians. Despite his experience, Obi expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government for stepping in to evacuate those affected and bring them back home safely.
