Furious by the way in which the xenophobic attacks was handled by the South African government, the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS has urged South African President, Jacob Zuma, to stay away from the inauguration of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.
The group furthermore threatened to storm the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, should Zuma step into the country’s airport.
The group maintained that President Zuma should stay at home and address burning issues, rather than embarking on a visit that is the least desirable, as his visit will be an insult to the emotional awareness of Nigerians over his alleged poor handling of the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other migrant foreigners in South Africa.
In a statement issued by its President, Tijani Usman, NANS noted that Zuma’s inability to “apologise to Nigerians like he did to Mozambique”, despite the sacrifices the country made for South Africa, was unfortunate.
The statement read: “We wish to advise the South African President (Jacob Zuma) to rather stay at home and address burning issues, rather than embarking on a visit that is the least desirable.
“The South African President’s failure to apologise to Nigeria for the losses the country and our citizens incurred during the xenophobic attacks on foreigners leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. There is therefore, no point felicitating with a people who clearly do not matter much to you. President Zuma’s visit will only amount to pretence.”
Furthermore, NANS vowed to close all South African investments in the country should any incident of xenophobic attacks recur.