Tinubu Snubs Ramaphosa’s Envoy Over Rising Xenophobia

​Diplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Africa have hit a fresh low after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declined to personally receive a high-powered special delegation dispatched by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

​The delegation, led by South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, arrived in Abuja carrying an urgent message aimed at defusing mounting tensions. However, rather than granting an audience, President Tinubu directed the visiting team to instead meet with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.

​Rising Tensions and the Chika Ibe Tragedy

​The diplomatic cold shoulder comes directly on the heels of renewed xenophobic violence in South Africa, which recently forced the emergency evacuation of hundreds of Nigerian nationals. Public outrage reached a boiling point following the brutal killing of a Nigerian national, Chika Ibe. Ibe was allegedly dragged from his residence at the Parksig Villas Complex in Bellville, Cape Town, and tortured to death by personnel of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

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​According to Presidency sources, the South African team arrived in Abuja without prior notice. While initially asked to wait over the weekend, President Tinubu ultimately decided against a direct meeting, signaling Abuja’s growing frustration with Pretoria’s handling of recurring anti-immigrant violence.

​Stiff Exchange in Abuja

​During the subsequent redirected talks, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye did not mince words, confronting the South African delegation over what he termed systematic “Afrophobia”. Enikanolaiye noted that historical data records nearly 100 Nigerians killed in hate-related mob actions in South Africa since 2022, pointing out troubling instances of police inaction and apparent state complicity.

​”We could see some mob actions, where we saw the police watching, as if they are helpless to address this situation, which to us raises issues of state responsibility,” Enikanolaiye stated during the engagement.

​In response, Minister Lamola maintained that President Ramaphosa’s administration remains firmly opposed to all forms of intolerance and discrimination. While defending South Africa’s enforcement of its sovereign immigration laws, Lamola called for broader continental cooperation to tackle the root causes of irregular migration rather than mutual finger-pointing.

​With Nigeria intensifying its push for stronger accountability measures through the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS, President Tinubu’s refusal to host the special envoy underscores that routine diplomatic reassurances will no longer suffice.