By Adekunle Williams
Ikeja – The Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday demanded that the South African Government should pay compensation to victims of the latest xenophobic attacks in the country.
The lawmakers made the demand at the plenary where they condemned the unwarranted attacks.
Mr Tunde Braimoh, representing Kosofe II, who raised the issue under ‘Matter of Urgent Importance’, recalled how Nigeria helped South Africa during the Apartheid regime.
Braimoh wondered how the country suddenly decided that Nigerians were now strangers in their land.
He commended President Muhammdu Buhari and his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the federal lawmakers for taking the right decisions.
“We also called on the government to move for assistance of the victims and support for Nigerians living in South Africa,” he said.
In his contributions, Mr Bisi Yusuf, representing Alimosho I, said South Africa must compensate Nigerians that were murdered in the country.
Yusuf also pleaded with Nigerians to stop destroying businesses linked to South Africa in Nigeria, saying that some Nigerians were stakeholders in such interests.
Commenting, Mr Rotimi Olowo, representing Shomolu I, said that Nigerians were not the only people who suffered, urging the House to admonish Lagosians to dissuade themselves from attacking businesses linked to South Africa.
The Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, said Nigerians abroad should be able to enjoy government’s support while carrying out their legal activities.
Obasa called on the government to draw the attention of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to the recent attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.
The speaker, however, decried the attitude of Nigerians in destroying businesses linked to South Africa, but with Nigerian interest.
Obasa cautioned the police against excessive use of arms to curtail protests.
He said that there had been protests in Hong Kong for days without any news of killing from the law enforcement agencies in the country.
(NAN)
