The federal government has alerted members of the
public about the activities of some suspected people, who are engaging in misinformation
to inflame passion by using fake news and videos of non-related attacks to
incite people over the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
The government also reiterated its appeal to
Nigerians, who are “justifiably angered’’ by the attacks on their compatriots
in South Africa, not to resort to self-help by carrying out reprisals against
South African businesses in Nigeria.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, who stated this at a press conference in his office in Abuja on Thursday,
strongly warned the “naysayers and hoodlums’’ who might want to capitalise on
the widespread disenchantment and anger of Nigerians over the attacks to stimulate
chaos not to allow raw emotions to guide their responses to the attacks.
‘’Three of such videos come to mind: One video
shows a man who has been set ablaze trying to escape, and those circulating the
video identified the man as a Nigerian. This is not true. The video is that of
a Mozambican, Ernesto Alfabeto Nhamuave, a victim of xenophobic violence in
South Africa in 2008, and it is not that of a Nigerian being attacked in 2019.
‘’Another video shows those said to be Nigerians
jumping down from a multi-storey building that was purportedly set on fire by
xenophobic attackers in South Africa. This is fake news as the video is that of
a Suraj Coaching Centre in Gujarat State in India that was gutted by fire on
May 24, 2019, leaving about 18 people dead.
‘’The third video, purportedly showing the bodies
of Nigerians who were burnt in xenophobic attacks, is the raw footage of those
who were killed in a Tanzanian fuel tanker explosion in Morogoro that left at
least 60 dead on August 10, 2019.’’
He warned those circulating the videos to
immediately desist from doing so, saying apart from inflaming passion, the
videos are also complicating the efforts of the government to calm frayed
nerves at home in the wake of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Expressing concerns over reports of these attacks,
which have dominated the social and traditional media in the past two days, the
minister said hoodlums have hijacked the peaceful protests by some Nigerians to
loot shops at Shoprite and other Malls in some locations across the country.
Mohammed said: “A Nigerian lady whose shop was
looted at the Novare Mall in Lagos said she lost millions of naira to the
hoodlums who looted her shop. The offices of the MTN nationwide have either
been attacked or threatened.
‘’South African firms have either shut their doors
or are open under heavy security. As we said in our intervention on Tuesday,
Nigerians own and run the shops in the various Shoprite malls across the
country. Nigerians work there also.
‘’MTN is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange
(NSE) and the investors in this company are Nigerians. The workers are mostly
Nigerians. Same applies to other South African businesses in the country. By
attacking them, we are hurting our own people. That is the blunt truth.’’
The minister added that some hoodlums have also
targeted foreigners under the guise of protesting against the xenophobic
attacks in South Africa, wondering if Nigerians are complaining that South
Africans were attacking Nigerians in South Africa, how then can they tolerate
Nigerians attacking Nigerians and foreigners right here in Nigeria.
He said the purpose of such attacks doesn’t serve
other purpose than for Nigerians to lose their investments and jobs, a case of
cutting their nose to spite their face.
‘’It is in this light that I want to assure all
Nigerians, and indeed foreigners living in Nigeria, that the federal government
has put in place adequate security measures to protect the lives and property
of all. The security agencies have been put on high alert, and looters will be
arrested and made to face justice,’’ he further stated.
The federal government’s spokesman also used the
press conference to alert Nigerians to the video clips being circulated on the
social media, purportedly showing how Nigerians are being killed in South Africa.
And appealed to opinion leaders and celebrities to be guarded in their
utterances and comments on the xenophobic attacks and the reactions from
Nigerians, stating that words have meaning, and wrong words are like poisoned
darts.
The minister further stressed that the federal
government would leave no stone unturned to protect Nigerian citizens anywhere
around the world, including South Africa, where they have been subjected to
repeated xenophobic attacks, with terrible consequences that include loss of
lives and property.
According to him, “President Muhammadu Buhari has
dispatched a special envoy to meet with his South African counterpart, Cyril
Ramaphosa, while Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyema, has summoned the
South African High Commissioner to Nigeria.
“Of course you are aware that Nigeria is recalling
its High Commissioner to South Africa in addition to boycotting the World
Economic Forum on Africa taking place in South Africa.’’
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