Nigeria Asks AU To Act On Xenophobic Attacks Against Africans In South Africa

Nigeria has urged the African Union to formally address recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against African nationals in South Africa. President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the AU summit in Angola, asked that the matter be placed on the agenda for the bloc’s January 2027 summit. The appeal came as African leaders focused on conflict prevention and security challenges across the continent.

Nigeria has called on the African Union (AU) to formally address recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against African nationals in South Africa, saying the violence threatens the unity, solidarity and peaceful coexistence that the continent is trying to promote.
President Bola Tinubu made the request during the 21st Extraordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Luanda, Angola, on August 30, urging African leaders to place the issue on the agenda of the AU’s 40th Ordinary Session scheduled for January 2027.
Tinubu was represented at the summit by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who delivered Nigeria’s position before the Assembly.

NIGERIA RAISES CONCERN OVER ATTACKS

Shettima told African leaders that Nigeria remained concerned about repeated attacks targeting Africans and other foreign nationals in South Africa.
Nigeria acknowledged South Africa’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws and recognised the country’s contributions to the continent.
However, Shettima stressed that violence and hostility against other Africans could not be treated as an isolated national matter.
He called on the AU to give the issue urgent collective attention and consider appropriate action when the bloc holds its next ordinary summit.
Nigeria also urged African leaders to reaffirm their commitment to protecting the safety, dignity and rights of African nationals wherever they live and work across the continent.

A LONG-STANDING SOURCE OF TENSION

Relations between Nigeria and South Africa have occasionally been strained by attacks on foreign nationals, particularly migrants from other African countries.
South Africa has experienced periodic xenophobic violence and anti-foreigner campaigns, with migrants sometimes accused of taking jobs, operating businesses that should belong to South Africans or contributing to crime.
Such accusations have frequently resulted in hostility towards African migrants, despite the significant economic and social links connecting South Africa with the rest of the continent.
Nigeria has previously condemned attacks against its citizens and other Africans in South Africa, while diplomatic efforts have been made at different times to ease tensions between the two countries.
For many African migrants, however, the issue is not simply diplomatic. Episodes of violence can mean the loss of businesses, homes, livelihoods and, in the most serious cases, lives.

AU SUMMIT FOCUSED ON CONFLICTS ACROSS AFRICA

Nigeria’s appeal came as African leaders gathered in Luanda primarily to discuss the continent’s mechanisms for preventing and resolving armed conflicts.
AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf highlighted ongoing crises in Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, the Sahel, Libya, northern Mozambique and Madagascar.
The summit ended with the adoption of the Luanda Action Plan, which seeks to strengthen the AU’s ability to prevent and respond to conflicts while encouraging African countries to take greater financial and political responsibility for the continent’s peace and security.
Youssouf said conflict prevention should become a priority and called for stronger early-warning systems, better implementation of AU decisions, sustainable financing for peace operations and a fully operational African Peace Fund.

NIGERIA WANTS ACTION, NOT JUST DECLARATIONS

The Luanda Declaration, read by AU Chairperson and Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye, urged member states to move beyond political statements and turn their peace and security commitments into measurable action.
Nigeria’s call over attacks against African nationals fits into that wider demand for practical action.
By asking the AU to formally place the South African xenophobia issue on its agenda, Nigeria is seeking to move the matter from individual diplomatic protests to a broader continental discussion.
The January 2027 AU summit could therefore provide an opportunity for African leaders to examine the causes of xenophobic violence, discuss measures for protecting African migrants and strengthen mechanisms for preventing attacks before they escalate.

THE HUMAN COST OF XENOPHOBIA

For Africans living outside their countries of birth, the issue carries a deeply personal dimension.
Many migrants move across African borders in search of employment, education, business opportunities and a better life. When they become targets because of their nationality, they can find themselves facing threats in communities they have come to regard as home.
Nigeria’s appeal therefore places the question of African solidarity at the centre of a wider debate: if Africans are expected to work together on peace, trade and development, governments must also ensure that Africans living across the continent can do so with safety and dignity.
The AU will now face pressure to determine whether Nigeria’s concerns should become part of its formal agenda in January 2027 and what concrete measures can be taken to protect African nationals from xenophobic violence.