Nigeria, Ghana Want ‘Afrophobia’ Discussed at Next AU Summit after South Africa Xenophobic Crisis

Nigeria and Ghana have called for “Afrophobia” to be placed on the agenda of the next African Union (AU) summit following the recent xenophobic crisis in South Africa that triggered the evacuation of hundreds of African migrants, including Nigerians and Ghanaians.

Sola Enikanolaiye, minister of state for foreign affairs, and Samuel Ablakwa, Ghana’s foreign minister, discussed the issue on the sidelines of an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting in Liberia on Friday.

Both ministers raised concerns over the recent Afrophobic protests and attacks targeting African nationals in South Africa.

According to government officials, the ministers “condemned all forms of xenophobia, Afrophobia, intolerance and violence against fellow Africans”.

They stressed the need for “urgent, coordinated regional and continental responses” to address the causes behind the anti-immigrant tensions.

Nearly 150,000 people have left South Africa in recent weeks, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by African countries that have repatriated their nationals.

Nigeria repatriated 1,490 citizens, while Ghana has evacuated at least 926.

In May, Ghana requested an AU debate on “xenophobic attacks” in South Africa. It is immediately clear if the request was granted.

Early this month, the West African country later said it had postponed a planned visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Accra until tensions died down.

Nigeria has threatened to explore “all options” if the South African government fails to protect its citizens from the xenophobic violence.