Onoh Slams South Africa Ambassador Over Xenophobia Denial

The Chairman of forum of former members of Enugu State House of Assembly and former Southeast spokesman to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has responded to South African Consul-General to Nigeria, Prof. Bobby Moroe, over his rejection of the long-standing description of violent attacks against foreigners in South Africa as “xenophobia,” insisting that South Africans are not hostile to migrants.

Moroe who made the remarks during an interview assured Nigerians that South Africa remains safe for tourists, business travellers and other visitors.  

“There’s no xenophobia in South Africa,” Moroe said when asked about the attacks.

Onoh in a swift reaction responded to the South African ambassador to Nigeria Professor Bobby Moroe 

in a statement made available to jounalists in Abuja Onoh, said that the South African Ambassador's continuous attempts to paint South Africa as a welcoming haven for fellow Africans flatly contradict the harrowing realities on the ground.

As examination of his nation’s current state reveals that xenophobia and Afrophobia have become deeply institutionalized, systematically targeting African migrants while escaping meaningful judicial accountability. 

Onoh said that Independent tracking by entities like Xenowatch confirms hundreds of targeted xenophobic incidents annually. This ongoing wave has led to the recent deaths of foreign nationals, such as five Ethiopian citizens gunned down in Johannesburg of which Professor Bobby Moroe can't claim he isn't aware. 

Onoh reminded Professor Bobby Moroe of the organized anti-immigrant groups, such as Operation Dudula and March and March, have weaponized fear by issuing violent ultimatums. These coordinated campaigns have forced thousands of African migrants to permanently abandon their homes, livelihoods, and businesses.

Onoh stated that Public opinion tracking by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) shows a steep, dangerous rise in anti-immigrant sentiment. As current data indicates that the segment of the population demanding zero immigration has surged significantly, exposing deep-seated hostility which Professor Bobby Moroe can't deny he's not aware. 

Onoh stated that International bodies like Amnesty International have heavily documented instances where vigilante groups openly block migrants from accessing basic health and education services with total impunity and in no single way has the voice of Professor Bobby Moroe been loudly heard condemning it.

Onoh said that the reality is that South Africa's domestic crisis is being deliberately externalized. Instead of resolving a staggering national murder rate of roughly 75 people per day, alongside severe structural unemployment exceeding 32%, political entities continuously use African migrants as cheap scapegoats.

Onoh while speaking from a legal standpoint, said that South Africa is failed in its obligations under regional frameworks and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Rather than prosecuting the instigators of hate crimes, government authorities have accommodated populist pressure by carrying out massive, forced repatriations. 

Onoh said that these actions demonstrated that xenophobia is not an isolated crime; it has become an integrated state-sanctioned mechanism to distract from public utility collapses and broken economic promises. The deeply deteriorated, poisoned mindset within the civic and political landscape makes a genuine, internal cleansing of this hatred seemingly impossible. And in all these crises the same Professor Bobby Moroe kept silent only to encourage our citizens to return back to the slaughtering fields of South Africa to become hunting past times of Zulus and other xenophobic elements. 

Onoh said it was a profound historical tragedy that an overwhelming 90% of today's Africans openly regret supporting and fighting for the liberation of South Africans from the shackles of apartheid. The continent dedicated its resources, safe havens, and diplomatic capital to dismantle institutionalized segregation, only to watch a liberated South Africa turn around and "bite the hand that fed it." 

Onoh highlighted the bitter consensus across the continent that an apartheid-era South Africa, for all its structural evils, did not commit the specific, unbridled street atrocities and xenophobic lynchings against non-South African blacks that are routinely witnessed today. 

Onoh said that the foundational pan-African solidarity has been utterly broken.

Onoh Called for a Continental Boycott and urged african nations to no longer sit idly by while their citizens are hunted, looted, and systemically degraded. 

Onoh said It was time for a coordinated, decisive continental boycott of South Africa. As a nation that cannot protect those who cross its borders to trade, invest, or seek safety, does not deserve the economic benefits of continental integration. Onoh said.

In conclusion, Onoh urged Professor Bobby Moroe, to keep their South Africa while we keep our Nigeria". 

Onoh said that Nigerian citizens are safe, valued, and protected at home in Nigeria. And the nation will no longer tolerate the disposal of African blood to cover up your domestic failures.