Nigerian migrants returning from South Africa face the same economic issues they left behind
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Plane carrying hundreds of people Nigerians fleeing South Africa The first feeling of passenger Iniebong James when he landed in Lagos last week was relief. Then came the anxiety.
Nearly two weeks after returning home, James, 52, is trying to readjust to the life he left 10 years ago when he packed his bags and headed to South Africa on a six-month visitor visa. His visa expired and he made a life as a car mechanic in the country’s Eastern Cape Province, despite not having permission to stay.
He told The Associated Press that he was coping with the situation until he was attacked by anti-immigrant protesters in May and suffered a head injury.
The attack on James occurred in the middle of an incident. Sharp increase in anti-immigrant sentiment In recent months, there have been marches in South Africa calling for immigrants to leave the country illegally and incidents of violence against some foreign nationals.
Hundreds of immigrants from Nigeria and many other African countries were recently repatriated from South Africa by their governments due to threats of violence against them and a growing sense of tension.
South Africa has been attracting foreign nationals from across Africa for years; Nigeriabecause of his relative wealth and opportunity. But explosions xenophobic violence He occasionally accompanied this against foreigners. South Africans sometimes blame foreigners high unemployment rates and poverty, putting pressure on public services and involvement in crime.
Before moving to South Africa, James worked as a truck driver for a transport company in Lagos, but the company closed in 2016 as the Nigerian economy entered its first recession in two decades. Unemployment worried him, but days of power outages finally pushed him to leave.
To survive in South Africa on his expired visa, James said he had to bribe riot police 200 rand ($12.14) a week to run his shop. He had made two payments to immigration officers when he was arrested. The AP was unable to verify this claim.
James said he was happy to be at home because he now had his “freedom”, but it was the bad economy that caused him to leave. much worse and worries that it will become difficult to find a job.
“If someone accepts me, I would send my CV, but I still hope the government will help me (with a job),” he said.
It’s so hard to start over
When the Nigerian government announced a repatriation flight to bring back its citizens last month, James thought he should return home and try again.
he was one First group of Nigerians He was repatriated from South Africa on 11 June.
The economy has declined in the last decade, prompting President Bola Tinubu to introduce far-reaching economic reforms in 2023. These reforms included the elimination of decades-old fuel subsidies that had kept fuel prices low, affecting retail prices of nearly every good and service in the West African country and allowing the value of the naira to be determined by market forces.
The reforms caused inflation, exacerbated by the US-Iran war, to soar and brought fuel prices to around $1 per liter. When James left in 2016, fuel cost 85 naira ($0.1) a litre, and on the day he returned fuel was selling for 1,400 naira ($1.03).
“Everything is so expensive,” he said.
The government said returnees “will receive appropriate assistance and support before being reunited” with their families.
The State Department did not respond to questions about long-term plans for repatriated citizens.
“Reparations are not transformation,” said Margaret Monyani, founder of the OLAM Africa Research Institute, a Johannesburg-based migration think tank. “Coming back isn’t always as easy as it seems. People just think, go home and start over. No, what is home?”
‘We do not want to employ foreigners’
Another Nigerian immigrant, Omotola Adeniyi, joined her mother in South Africa in 2015 when she was 8 years old. His mother enrolled him and his sister in high school, but he was later unable to find a job and attend college.
“After I finished high school, that’s when I saw real life because everywhere I looked for a job, the only thing I found was ‘No, we don’t want to employ foreigners,'” Adeniyi said.
He started saving for his flight back to Nigeria last year, but the fare was too high. So he accepted Nigeria’s offer of a flight home. But Adeniyi, who has been away for 11 years, said his home now feels foreign.
The latest protests have sparked diplomatic responses from governments across the continent, including Nigeria. GhanaMalawi and others that have repatriated hundreds of their citizens from the country. Nigeria and Ghana summoned South Africa’s diplomatic officials and issued strong public statements.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu told James and others when they arrived at a statement released by their representatives: “The price of your peace and the safety of your children is worth any sacrifice you have to make or any asset you have to leave behind when escaping a conflict zone or hateful environment. Survival is the noblest form of revenge.”
Despite attacks on foreigners, experts say South Africa still remains a preferred destination for most African immigrants due to its more developed economy and infrastructure development.
“This doesn’t mean South Africa has perfect institutions, but they are largely working,” Monyani said.
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