President Bola Tinubu has raised the alarm over recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks in South Africa, warning that the growing hostility against Africans could damage the foundation of continental unity.
Tinubu’s warning came as Nigeria pushed the African Union to confront the issue collectively rather than treat recurring attacks against foreign nationals as isolated incidents.
The President made his position known through Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented him at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Luanda, Angola.
Shettima delivered Nigeria’s message, calling for stronger continental measures to protect the safety, dignity and rights of Africans living across the continent.
Nigeria also urged the AU to place the South African xenophobia issue on the agenda of its 40th Ordinary Session scheduled for January 2027.
“Nigeria wishes to express its concern over the recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other nationals in South Africa,” Tinubu said.
The President, however, acknowledged South Africa’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws.
But he drew a line between legitimate immigration enforcement and attacks targeting Africans and other foreign nationals.
According to him, such attacks threaten the principles of African solidarity and peaceful coexistence.
“Such attacks undermine African solidarity, unity and peaceful coexistence, and require urgent collective attention,” he said.
Tinubu’s intervention places fresh pressure on African leaders to address a problem that has repeatedly generated tensions between South Africa and other African countries.
He called for stronger continental action against xenophobia and Afrophobia, stressing the need for dialogue, preventive diplomacy and collective intervention.
The President argued that African leaders must act before tensions escalate into wider diplomatic and security crises.
Beyond the South Africa issue, Nigeria backed the adoption of the Luanda Action Plan as a framework for strengthening conflict prevention across Africa.
Tinubu said African countries could not afford to wait for conflicts to erupt before responding.
“For Nigeria, conflict prevention remains more cost-effective and sustainable than conflict management,” he said.
The Nigerian position effectively puts the issue of attacks against Africans in South Africa before the continent’s highest political platform, with the January 2027 AU summit now expected to provide an opportunity for broader consideration and possible action.