By Suleiman Anyalewechi
Senior Lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has advocated a total boycott of all outfits and products associated with South Africa as a befitting reciprocal gesture to the country’s festering xenophobic rhetorics and attacks on Nigerians and other African immigrants.
His call is coming on the heels of Nigeria’s efforts at rallying African countries to condemn the attacks which have so far claimed over 98 Nigerian lives since it began a couple of years ago.
The Nigerian authorities, only penultimate week, rounded off the repatriation of over 1,400 of their nationals displaced by the attacks .
But at an interactive session with the media at his Ilawe-Ekiti country home at weekend, Falana insisted that diplomatic engagements alone will not be enough to drive home Nigeria’s feelings against the unjust and inhuman treatment being meted out to its citizens by the people of South Africa.
He emphasized that it is high time Nigeria adopted a tough posture, with a view to compelling the South African authorities pinto taking adequate measures aimed at reining in their unruly citizens.
According to him, the Federal Government’s plans of enlisting the intervention of the African Union,or exploring other diplomatic options may not, in the end, yield the desired results.
Falana therefore, called on Nigerians to consider the option of stopping the patronage of all South African owned companies and their products.
While urging citizens to migrate from MTN to other networks, Falana maintained that such hardline reciprocal gestures will certainly force the South Africans to rethink their belligerent posture towards Nigerians and other Africans.
“Where there are alternatives, Nigerians should be encouraged to migrate from MTN because there are alternatives. That is one way South Africa will know that Nigeria is serious”, Falana stated .
This is as he berated the Nigerian authorities for their total failure in adequately protecting their citizens from intimidation, harassment and other inhuman treatments not just in South Africa ,but across Africa.
He emphasized that the Nigerian Government, through its refusal to recognise the jurisdiction of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, has wittingly and or unwittingly denied its citizens the opportunity of accessing an important legal institution to protect their rights.
“The Federal Government will have to employ diplomatic actions. But beyond that, it should also adopt economic measures against South African companies operating in Nigeria
” In the 1970s, because of apartheid in South Africa, Nigeria nationalised British Petroleum. It should also be possible today to nationalise some South African investments in Nigeria if necessary.
“There is the African Court on Human and People’s Rights in Arusha, Tanzania, established by the African Union to address human rights abuses in member states. Nigeria has refused to allow its nationals access to that court by failing to deposit the necessary instruments.
“If Nigerians could approach the African Court in the same way citizens can approach the ECOWAS Court in Abuja, South Africa would have been dragged before the court by victims of xenophobic attacks”, he noted.
However, the senior lawyer in addition, called for the revocation of all mining licences granted to South African companies operating in the country.
Discover more from The Source
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
