Star actress, Genevieve Nnaji, has joined other celebrities to react to what is going on in South Africa.
Some Nigerian businesses and their owners have practically been under siege and deadly threat, forcing sharp cries across the country and some parts of the continent.
Reacting to this, Nnaji said ‘they’ had always shown Nigerians whom they were.
She noted in an online statement: “A life with us isn’t the worse thing. They need to see one without us. They’ve shown us countless times who they are. Let’s believe them. It’s time to show them who we are. But most importantly, it’s time we believed in ourselves. They see our potential; our greatness. We need to see it too. It’s tough out here I know, but sooner than later we’ll have to realize it’s all we’ve got. We have to make sure our energy and resources are beneficial to all things Her??. We can’t ignore the signs much longer. Change is inevitable. Let us stay ahead of it. #LongliveNigeria ”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has sent a special envoy to the South African President, Syril Pamaphosa, on the need to urgently resolve the matter.
Also, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, also said on Tuesday that Nigeria would push for compensation for the Nigerians affected in the attacks.
While the Vice President, Femi Osinbajo, has also described the attacks on Nigerians as unacceptable, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, appealed to Nigerians not to attack South African businesses, noting that it would hurt nigerians ore.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of Information
and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described as deeply disturbing the
reports that some Nigerians, angered by the xenophobic attacks in
South Africa, have started attacking South African companies in
Nigeria.
He said that targetting South African companies in Nigeria for attack
is, for Nigerians, a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite
your face, because the investors in such companies, especially MTN and
Shoprite, are Nigerians.
Alhaji Mohammed said the majority of the workers in the South African
companies operating in Nigeria are also Nigerians, meaning that its
Nigerian workers who will be hardest hit if such companies are forced
to shut down for fear of attacks.
