Abuja – Several hundred Nigerian citizens living in South Africa were repatriated on Air Peace flights following a wave of xenophobic violence which sparked sharp exchanges between the two countries.
Allen Onyeama, chairman of Air Peace, says he wept when Nigerians who were returning from South Africa mobbed him and sang the country’s anthem.
Onyeama disclosed this while addressing the media shortly after 187 Nigerians returned from South Africa over xenophobic attacks.
The airline had offered free flights to those who sought to return.
“I put together over N280 million in other to bring these people back, Air Peace decided to bring them free of charge, nobody paid us a dime, we decided to do it free of charge for our country and for our people.
“When I stepped inside the aircraft to welcome them, they mobbed me and started singing the Nigerian national anthem, there was nobody there singing about separation, they felt proud to be Nigerian, they rose in unison, that drew tears from me.”
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