Monday, August 24, 2026 - The South African Consul-General to Nigeria, Prof. Bobby Moroe, has dismissed claims that some Nigerians are being attacked in South Africa because of their romantic relationships with South African women,
In an interview with Punch, Monroe said;
‘’It cannot
be. We live in a constitutional democracy where everybody is allowed to
exercise their freedoms, and nobody, no matter how they feel, is permitted to
interfere with people’s preferences. Love knows no borders. I am quite aware of
the popular narrative, but I do not think it is really true because South
African men also fall in love with women from other countries. Our sisters may
have very good reasons why they prefer Nigerian men, but it is a good thing
because we are expanding.
This is a
cultural issue that cannot be avoided. If you choose to marry someone, I do not think you
make that choice because of nationality. It is also not true that South African
men do not like Nigerian men. I am a classic example because of my association
with Igbos. I have friends from the South-East, including Anambra and Abia
states. I have an interest in Nigerian culture. Foreign nationals have been in
South Africa for many years, but you also have South Africans who are
foreigners in other countries, including myself. What most South Africans are
complaining about is that some, not all, foreign nationals, including
Nigerians, Ghanaians and others, do not respect the laws of the country. They
stay in South Africa illegally, and concerns have also been raised about the
risks associated with undocumented foreign nationals.
I do not
think any country in the world would allow anybody to live within its borders
illegally. But when South Africa raises concerns about that, we are called
xenophob!c, and I think it is unfair to use that label without justification.
When we raise issues that are of genuine concern to South Africans, and people
go on peaceful marches, which the Constitution allows, they are labelled
xenophob!c. When similar things happen elsewhere in the world, for example, in
Ghana, where such issues are happening now, it is not called xenophob!a. We
have realised that the term “xenophob!a” has become synonymous with South
Africa alone, creating the notion that African unity must happen only in South
Africa. I think many African countries have been very unfair to South Africa.
By far, we are one of the biggest hosts of foreign nationals in Africa, even
before 1994''
Monroe said it is unfair to accuse his country of
Xenophobia. He recounted how a Nigerian who was to be arrested for dealing in
banned substances, ingested the substance, later d!ed and his de@th was wrongly
attributed to the Xenophobic attackers.
‘’One of the
issues raised was alleged extrajudicial killings. I can give you a classic
example of what happened a few weeks ago involving a Nigerian national who was
to be arrested in Cape Town. He was accused of selling certain substances. Upon
hearing that he was going to be arrested, he swallowed some of the
substances.
Unfortunately,
that caused severe complications, and he died before the arrival of the police.
That was attributed to an extrajudicial k!lling. That is based on the report we
received, but we do not know how accurate it is. Sometimes, you find that individuals
resist arrest to the point of attacking law enforcement officers, who also have
to protect themselves.
As a
country, we take responsibility where necessary, but I think it would be very
unfair for us to take responsibility for acts that have nothing to do with what
we are supposed to be responsible for''
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