Nigerians in South Africa, especially business owners, have been advised to be security-conscious by the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa.
The commission claimed that the advice became necessary as a result of a planned march by South African citizens against foreign migrants.
The commission urged Nigerians living in South Africa to take precautions and monitor their surroundings when going about their daily business.
This was contained in an advisory issued by the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa and dated August 24, 2022.
The advisory read, “This is to advice Nigerians in South Africa to be vigilant and exercise caution in their activities due to the recent utterances of the proponents of the Operation Dudula and their threats to attack foreign nationals in this country.
“The group, through public notice and video clips circulated on the social media has informed of plans to march against foreign migrants in South Africa starting from the 2nd of September, 2022 and specifically on foreign business owners, shops and undocumented foreign nationals.
“Nigerian residents in South Africa are hereby advised to exercise caution and be watchful in carrying out their day-to-day activities.”
There had been reports that protesters marched to one of South Africa’s main government buildings in Pretoria, Wednesday, backing a national strike called by the country’s largest unions over high inflation and power cuts.
Hundreds of people blocked roads in the capital as they walked to the Union Buildings, where the presidency is located, demanding the government tackle rising living costs to prevent “economic collapse”.
“We cannot breathe,” the General Secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions, Zwelinzima Vavi, told the crowd.
“We cannot compromise when we know that yesterday and today, at least 14 million people are forced to skip a meal a day because they simply cannot afford to buy a plate of food.”
Protests in other parts of the country were much smaller however, with union calls for a “national shutdown” largely unheeded.
South Africa has been battered by high unemployment and soaring inflation, and waves of blackouts caused by breakdowns and capacity shortfalls at state energy provider Eskom.
“It is a societal struggle,” said the deputy director of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Mike Shingange.