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The Taming of Nigerians in Ghana and South Africa: What Exactly Is the Crime of Being Nigerian?
The Taming of Nigerians in Ghana and South Africa: What Exactly Is the Crime of Being Nigerian?
Written by George Omagbemi Sylvester
Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com
In recent years, Nigerians living in Ghana and South Africa have faced targeted discrimination, xenophobia and state-backed crackdowns that have left many questioning: What is truly wrong? Is the problem with the Nigerian people? Our government? Or is it rooted in envy, fear or cultural misunderstanding? The situation has worsened so much that the word “Nigerian” now evokes caution, hostility or outright rejection in countries where we were once welcomed as brothers. It is time to dissect this crisis with brutal honesty.
Nigeria: Giant or Target Let’s start from the obvious. Nigeria is the most populous black nation on earth, with over 220 million people, a dominant cultural influence and economic reach that stretches across Africa. Nigerians are visible in nearly every industry; from banking, tech, fashion, music, academics and more professionally. From the bustling markets of Accra to the high-rise offices in Johannesburg, the Nigerian footprint is evident, but that footprint has turned into a target.
In 2019, South Africa witnessed some of the most brutal anti-immigrant violence in modern African history. Nigerians were chased, beaten and even killed under the pretext that they “took jobs” from locals and were “criminals.” Ironically, many of these Nigerians were legal immigrants, business owners or skilled workers. The same narrative plays out in Ghana, where the government continues to harass Nigerian traders, shutting down their shops, demanding unrealistic business capital requirements and subtly encouraging nationalist sentiments.
We must ask: Is this about CRIME or is it about COMPETITION?
Envy Masquerading as Nationalism. Professor PLO Lumumba of Kenya once said, “The tragedy of Africa is that Africans are in the business of colonizing themselves.” The treatment of Nigerians abroad is not about our attitudes or our government alone. it is about envy. Envy of our dominance in trade. Envy of our linguistic confidence. Envy of our fearlessness in the face of adversity. Nigerians are loud because we are expressive; we are bold because we are survivors.
As music icon Burna Boy said, “We are Africans, but Nigerians carry the spirit of resilience in extra doses.” Unfortunately, this same resilience has become a threat to host nations who feel overshadowed economically, culturally and even socially by Nigerians.
In Ghana, Nigerians control significant portions of the retail market. In South Africa, Nigerians are deeply involved in hospitality, entertainment, education, sports and legal enterprise. Instead of collaboration, these successes have sparked coordinated efforts to frustrate Nigerian migrants. And local governments, failing to address their own unemployment and corruption, deflect blame by scapegoating foreigners and especially Nigerians.
Government Failure and Diplomatic Weakness. While the governments of Ghana and South Africa must be held accountable for the injustices, we cannot ignore the negligence of Nigeria’s own leadership. Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to these attacks with cowardly press statements and useless diplomatic jargon. Where is the assertiveness of a government defending its people abroad?
When South African mobs killed and injured Nigerians, the Nigerian government did not demand justice with urgency or economic sanctions. When Ghanaian authorities locked Nigerian shops, our diplomatic mission begged instead of taking a firm stand. As former South African president Thabo Mbeki once warned, “We must deal with the real causes of our problems not find scapegoats among those who come to us in peace.”
Nigeria has the economic power to retaliate. Our imports and exports to these nations are substantial. Nigerian-owned businesses bring millions of dollars into these host economies annually. Yet, we act like a toothless giant; feared only for our population, but respected by none just because our government lacks the will to defend its people.
Are Nigerians Too Loud? This is a common accusation that Nigerians are too loud, too flashy, too aggressive, but what critics call “loud” is often just confidence. Nigerians do not whisper in the face of injustice. We don’t shrink in foreign lands. We thrive and we let you know we are thriving. That is not a sin.
Cultural assertiveness is often mistaken for arrogance, but would we prefer to walk around heads bowed, pretending we are not the drivers of African innovation, culture and progress? Nigerians have a saying: “Person wey dey run no go carry last.” We push ourselves because our system has failed us and wherever we go, we push limits to survive.
LET US NOT APOLOGIZE FOR SUCCEEDING.
The Criminal Stereotype: Fact or Fabrication? Of course, not every Nigerian abroad is a saint. Like every country, Nigeria has its share of criminals; but to use the actions of a few to tarnish an entire nation is intellectually dishonest and morally bankrupt.
If crime is the issue, are Ghanaian or South African prisons filled with only Nigerians? Statistics from South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services reveal that Nigerians make up less than 5% of the foreign inmate population, a far cry from the image painted by media and mobs. In Ghana, less than 1% of foreign convicts are Nigerians. The real danger is not Nigerians; it is propaganda.
As Namibian freedom fighter Sam Nujoma once stated, “An injury to one African is an injury to all. We must never forget this sacred unity.” We must stop accepting the criminal stereotype and fight it with facts. The average Nigerian abroad is a student, a trader, a professional and not a threat.
What Must Be Done?
1. Nigeria Must Fight for Its People.
Our government must take decisive steps; economic retaliations, policy reviews and protective diplomacy. If you touch one Nigerian, you touch us all. That must be our foreign policy mantra.
2. African Unity Must Be More Than a Slogan.
The African Union and ECOWAS must stop pretending and start acting. Attacks on Nigerians are attacks on African unity. Countries hosting Nigerians must be held accountable for hate crimes and institutional xenophobia.
3. Change the Narrative.
Nigerians abroad must actively promote positive stories. From Dr. Philip Ozuah, CEO of Montefiore Health System in the U.S., to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in literature, we have heroes. Let their stories be louder than the noise of our detractors.
4. Nigerians Must Be Vigilant.
Avoid illegal activities, yes, but also avoid silence. Form communities. Work with local authorities. Use the law. Fight stereotypes with excellence.
My Final Thoughts on This.
The targeting of Nigerians in Ghana and South Africa is not just about crime, noise. (Loud) or culture. It is a mix of government failure, local envy and institutional scapegoating. Nigerians must not COWER. We are not PERFECT, but we are POWERFUL. Our diaspora drives Africa’s intellectual, creative and economic engine. Rather than bow our heads, we must raise our voices and assert our right to live, work and thrive wherever we are. As Kwame Nkrumah once declared, “The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart.” That unity must start with Africans protecting Nigerians and Nigeria protecting Nigerians.
Written by George Omagbemi Sylvester
Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com
NNPCL and Corruption’s Final Throes
By Pius Olasanmi
In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, when Nigerians were still capable of being outraged, when Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries was a buzzword that still held some mysticism to bamboozle citizens, during a conversation, a certain man said something profound. The man said, “As a businessman, if I were the owner of these refineries, knowing that they are three decades old, I would take the last money I have, hire bulldozers, raze them to the ground, and obtain loans to build new ones.”
When we pressed him further on why he would engage in such waste, he explained that repairing the refineries is the real waste. He explained that even if the TAM were honestly carried out, a thirty-year-old refinery would never compete favourably with a new one that would integrate contemporary technology. Operating at its best, such a refinery would never be comparatively more efficient. It is therefore pointless to have spent another one naira on the refineries at that point.
A few months later, I had a conversation with a then-lawmaker on an entirely different matter. I mentioned that the National Assembly has failed by not crafting legislation that would criminalise and punish public office holders who foist wrong decisions on the country. The logic: a public office holder need not steal to be punished, wrong decisions should attract penalties for an office holder who opts for the worst of all options when there are less injurious ones.
These established premises speak to the ongoing nauseating efforts at revisionism by those who wrecked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its previous iteration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Notably, this campaign to rewrite history is traceable to Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, the disgraced immediate past Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL and his hirelings. They have suffocated the news and the public opinion space with even more lies than they spun while in office.
The Saint Kyari campaign is anchored on convincing Nigerians that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries were fully functional when he was booted out of office. So brazen is the campaign that one of its talking heads challenged the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, to “inform Nigerians categorically what happened to the functioning refineries he inherited from his predecessor, Engr. Mele Kyari.” The effrontery.
We have not forgotten so soon the charade that followed the baffling claim that Nigeria has spent $2.8 billion on the repair of the refineries, while they are not churning out even a single litre of refined product among them. Saint Kyari and his goons played all manner of tricks, all of which embarrassed President Bola Tinubu, who had counted on ticking off the return to productivity of the refineries as part of his achievements, only to realise that he was deceived into celebrating phantoms. Tragic.
Lest we forget, 200 trucks were arranged as props in a well-directed video clip to celebrate the re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refinery. The disappointment. Nigerians were to learn from several reports that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing and was instead using old, stored petroleum products to load trucks. Worse still, the Kyari crew was passing off sanction-tainted Russian-sourced crude oil refined in Malta as locally refined products. More insult was piled on the assault on our collective sensibility with the lies that the Port Harcourt Refinery exported semi-finished products. Brazen.
Meanwhile, Kyari and his hirelings called those who pointed out or protested these glaring scams all manner of names. They hid behind industry technicalities and jargon to create the impression that those of us who knew Nigerians were being robbed did not understand what we were saying. The point remains that a $2.8 billion investment can potentially build a refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Of course, the actual capacity of such a refinery will depend on various factors, including the complexity of the refinery, the technology used, and the location. That is the amount that Kyari’s regime at the NNPCL took and did not give Nigerians refined products.
Fast forward to Kyari’s sack and the appointment of Engineer Bayo Ojulari, who has demonstrated that things can indeed be done differently. Kyari’s exit was expectedly followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) going after him and his associates. The extent of the theft is better understood against the backdrop of N80 billion being found in the bank account of one of his associates. They went on the run.
Perhaps because the EFCC was biding its time on securing international warrants for the arrests of these characters on the lam, they have become emboldened. They have decided to fight back and rewrite the story of their participation in the greatest fraud against Nigerians. Engineer Ojulari’s renewed mindset, which is entrenching a semblance of the transparency Nigerians demand, became their natural target. The demons that once roamed around the corporation came out with malevolence. They started spinning stories of corruption to tarnish the incumbent who refused to hide their crimes. The objective: bring Ojulari down. But alas, he is winning the war as it stands.
His innocence is proven, and it is glaring that those who want him out are mere charlatans who can no longer ply their corrupt wares because of the impact of the new reforms. Corruption in the NNPCL is in its final throes. The fake news being unleashed against the incumbent leadership is akin to corruption’s last kicks as reforms in the sector strangulate it and its practitioners. The reforms must take place in the NNPCL, whether the industry demons like it or not.
As a parting shot, Kyari and his associates would do well to prepare their defence. In addition to accounting for the $2.8 billion they laundered in the name of repairing the moribund refineries, they must also answer for the poor decision to fix that which is irretrievably broken. Awarding contracts for Turn Around Maintenance of 59-year-old refineries that a right-thinking person had suggested should be demolished almost twenty years ago, when they were only 30 years old, is criminal. Trying to deceive Nigerians that the fake repairs worked is treason.
Olasanmi is a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos.
GRANDIS 5STAR LUXURY APARTMENT & SUITES SET TO REDEFINE LIVING IN VICTORIA ISLAND
Set to Rise elegantly against the Lagos skyline, is the Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites. According to Adejuwon Ademola, The General Manager of the Development company, it is more than just a residential building
“it’s a lifestyle statement. Standing 17 floors high in the heart of Victoria Island, this revolutionary masterpiece of modern architecture will offer a panoramic 360° view of Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, and Ikoyi, transforming every apartment into an exclusive penthouse experience for the world’s most discerning elite.”
Developed by Dumarco Construction Limited, a globally acclaimed company with decades of delivering complex, high-value projects in the highly regulated petroleum, oil, and gas industries, Grandis 5Star brings unmatched international safety standards, uncompromising quality, and timeless elegance into Nigeria’s luxury property market.
> “When you live in Grandis, you’re not just buying a home—you’re investing in peace of mind, world-class safety, and an effortless luxury experience that will remain pristine for decades,” says Adejuwon A. Ademola, General Manager of Dumarco Construction Limited.
The Gold Standard in Safety and Quality
Dumarco’s roots in the oil and gas sector mean the company operates to some of the strictest safety protocols in the world. Every stage—from conceptualization, design, construction, to long-term maintenance—follows internationally accepted procedures and quality assurance measures. Cutting corners is simply not in Dumarco’s vocabulary.
> “In the oil and gas industry, there’s no room for compromise. We’ve brought that same discipline and zero-tolerance for mediocrity into property development,” says Ademola. “That’s why Grandis will be one of the safest and most enduring residential developments in Nigeria.”
To ensure transparency and prevent (project complacency), Dumarco deliberately separates the developer, contractor, and consultant roles, engaging only the most competent professionals in each respective field. Dumarco’s project team includes globally recognized contractors such as Julius Berger, Cappa & D’Alberto, and Elalan, Migliore Construczione & Tecniche (MC&T) and their partners VENCO IMTIAZ CONTRACTING COMPANY (VICC) based in Dubai, UAE, Business Contracting Limited, alongside leading consultants like Morgan Omanitan & Abe, LAMBERT, and James Cubitt.
Grandis – Investments, appreciation, returns and profitability
Our selection process for the location of the project alone was pains-taking and completely thorough scientific process. Top professional companies were employed to conduct a scientific data acquisition and analytical survey of the entire Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Eko Atlantic before a project site is selected. Analyzing and acquiring areas developmental charts and trends, studying and gathering historical and present sale prices, rental charge and occupancy rates over a 50 year period from every individual street before the selection of the location of any of our developments especially true for the Grandis Project
He adds,
“Our clients and residents can be rest assured that the location of Grandis has been scientifically proven through all existing data to provide our clients with a 100% occupancy rate, highest developmental location, highest rental income and investment returns. ”
The Grandis Experience
Located minutes away from international corporate headquarters, embassies, and landmarks such as Eko Hotel, Radisson Blu, and the Radisson Red, Grandis offers unmatched convenience for professionals, diplomats, and high-net-worth individuals. Every residence is designed for both indulgence and efficiency, with high-grade finishes, smart-home systems, and private amenities that ensure seamless living.
From sunrise over the Atlantic to the glittering Lagos night skyline, residents will enjoy uninterrupted luxury, supported by discreet and highly trained staff, advanced security systems, and a design that prioritizes comfort and privacy.
> “We designed Grandis for people who want everything—security, elegance, convenience, and the assurance that their home will look as spectacular in 20 years as it does on day one,” Ademola notes.
A Legacy That Lasts
With its combination of visionary architecture, peerless safety, and meticulous maintenance planning, Grandis is built to remain iconic for generations. Thanks to Dumarco’s meticulous approach, the building’s service charges are expected to remain low while its value and appeal continue to appreciate over time.
In a market often marred by shortcuts and substandard practices, Mr Ademola says
Grandis stands as a beacon of what luxury living should be—safe, spectacular, and built to last.
“Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites — Where safety meets sophistication, and every detail is designed for a life well-lived.”
He added
Website -www.dumarcoltd.com
Project website – www.26idowutaylor.com
Email [email protected]
Tel / WhatsApp +234 9077777883
GM – Adejuwon A. Ademola
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