A Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Jiti Ogunye, has
advised the Federal Government to make emigration unattractive by
fixing the country.
It is a means of tackling the xenophobic attacks in South
Africa, the lawyer posits.
Ogunye, in an interview with our Correspondent on Tuesday,
stated that boycotting South African firms operating in Nigeria
would not solve the problems that cause Nigerians to flee to other
conflict-ridden countries.
He said, “There is a Yoruba proverb, Ile la ti n ko eso rode,
meaning, how you want to be in public will be determined by how
well behaved and conducted you are at home.
“My belief is that if we fix our country, that won’t end
xenophobic attacks elsewhere against our nationals, but it will
make or country a veritable sanctuary for our people so that if
they are being harassed elsewhere, they can come home and then earn
a decent living.
“So, this is not the time to say, ‘Let’s deal with them in
Nigeria: MTN, DStv and Shoprite are there.’”
He noted that, though Nigerians could express disgust, there was
the need to look inward, adding that the country should not be
turned into a war zone that people flee from perpetually.
Ogunye said, “We should fix our country politically, socially
and economically.
“We should make our country attractive to our countrymen and
women.
“You are talking about South Africa. Nigerians are marooned in
Libya. They keep bringing them back, but they keep going back.
“So, what is it in our country that has made war-torn areas of
the world attractive to our nationals?
“Our people cross the Mediterranean and they die there because
they want to get to Europe. They are very desperate to get
there.
“Why is it that every day you go to foreign embassies in
Nigeria, they are a marketplace? It is because Nigerians are
desperate to get out of this country. The task to fix Nigeria is
very desperate and urgent.”
According to the lawyer, while decrying the “madness” going on
in South Africa, condemning it and calling for a cessation of the
madness, compatriots should seize the moment as a time for serious
sober reflection.
“Nigerians can be genuinely angry about what is going on in
South Africa.
“On social media, in the mainstream media and everywhere, you
see Nigerians expressing disgust and annoyance, and you can see
patriotism and familiarity being exhibited.
“We are talking about 130 Nigerians being killed in South Africa
and businesses being destroyed.
“In Nigeria, on a daily basis, how many deaths do we record due
to violent crimes, kidnappings and banditry?
“Even among our ethnic nationalities, we see all this going on
in, more or less, the same way we have in South Africa now,” he
added.
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