The National Association of Nigerian Students NANS, on Thursday shut down MTN and DSTV main offices in Benue in protest of continued killings of Nigerians in South Africa.
From Minna, they also called on Nigerians to boycott all South African products.
MTN and DSTV are both South African companies operating in Nigeria.
NANS Deputy Zonal Coordinator, Zone C, Abah Owoicho, who led the protest to shut down the offices in Benue also presented a strong worded letter of protest to the organisations.
The letter was titled: “Position of NANS on Xenophobic Attack on Nigerians in South Africa.’’
Owiocho said the letter was a condemnation of the years of barbaric killings of Nigerians in South Africa.
“Since Nigerians living in South Africa cannot enjoy the same peace and support that South African businesses are enjoying here, it is only reasonable to shut down those businesses and their interests until further notice,’’ he said.
The student leader also frowned at the recent killing of a Nigerian student, Dennis Obiaju, describing it as “barbaric.’’
“It has become necessary for NANS to rise to the occasion and speak against the killings that have continued with no visible attempt by the South African Government to curb the menace.
“Our pain is deeply rooted in the peace and patronages your organisations and other South African businesses enjoy in our country while the safety of our citizens and their businesses cannot be guaranteed in South Africa,’’ he said.
Owoicho said that it was disheartening that South Africans could suddenly forget the big brother role Nigeria played which led to the dismantling of apartheid regime in their country.
“We also remember the apartheid struggle; Nigeria was very instrumental to the ending of the policy but today they are paying us with evil.
“It is very painful to see that Nigeria that supported South Africa to gain independence is not being respected today.
“We can no longer stand and watch while our citizens are being massacred.
“We believe that the international community is also watching these developments,’’ he said.
Ms. Vera Ube, MTN Connect Manager in Makurdi, who received the protest letter on behalf of MTN, told the students that the management and staff of MTN were not in support of the killings as it had condemned such anti-development actions any time they occurred.
Ube, however, said she would forward the letter to the appropriate quarters for consideration.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, NANS Joint Campus Committee, Niger State Axis, Hussaini Ebbo, called on Nigerians to stop patronising South African owned businesses in Nigeria.
The call according to him is in reaction to recurring killing of Nigerians in South Africa, with recent strangling of Mrs. Elizabeth Ndubuisi-Chukwu as the latest.
Until the tragedy, Ndubuisi-Chukwu was Deputy Director-General of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria. She was in South Africa for a conference and was killed in her hotel room in Johannesburg.
Ebbo, who made the call at a meeting of NANS with Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger in Minna on Thursday, expressed the association’s concern over the killing of Nigerians in South Africa.
He urged Nigerians to stop patronising MTN, DSTV and Stanbic IBTC, advising that they should move over to alternative network providers such as Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat.
Ebbo said that no fewer than 200 lives of innocent Nigerians had been cut short through xenophobic attacks in South Africa between 2016 and now, and declared that the trend was unacceptable.
“I wish to once again condemn in strong terms the indiscriminate looting and killing of Nigerians, who are either residing or visiting South Africa.
“The only way to stop further killings of Nigerians in South Africa is to picket all the business entities owned by South Africans in Nigeria.
He explained that it was now obvious that South Africans see Nigerians as competitors, not as brothers and sisters, and warned that such acts would no longer be accepted.
Responding, Bello said that the killing of Nigerians in South Africa called for sober reflection, noting that such act was condemnable and unacceptable in any society.
“As Nigerians, we must be respected in an African country, especially in South Africa which benefitted a lot from Nigeria. It is a wake-up call to every Nigerian.
“It is a situation that should not be accepted anywhere in the world, Nigerians are peaceful people, therefore must be allowed to live their lives peacefully,” he said.
Bello, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Balarabe, assured that the concern and grievances of NANs would be transmitted to the Federal Government.
NAN
