Skip to main content

Nigeria, South Africa feud over yellow fever jabs. DO THEY NEED ALL THIS

By

ABUJA (Reuters) – South Africa and Nigeria are embroiled in a diplomatic spat after the authorities at Johannesburg airport deported 125 Nigerians, alleging their yellow fever vaccination certificates were fakes – the latest twist in a long-standing rivalry between Africa’s two biggest economies.
Nigeria has responded with undisguised tit-for-tat deportations of 84 South Africans in the past two days, according to a senior official at the State Security Service who could not be named.
“South Africans will know we are very serious with this matter and that any deportation of any Nigerian, we will meet it with equal reciprocal measure,” Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ashiru told a hearing at the National Assembly late on Tuesday.
“What you see playing out is … xenophobia by South Africans against all Africans, not just Nigerians, including even those from their neighbouring countries,” he said.
A spokesman for South Africa’s home affairs department said the decision to deport the Nigerians stemmed purely from concerns about health.
“It’s not an immigration issue, it’s a health matter … Nobody without a yellow fever certificate is allowed into the country and that’s what this is,” said Ronnie Mamoepa.
Cards proving vaccination against yellow fever – a deadly mosquito-borne disease – are required by most African countries for entry. But they sometimes serve as a lever for immigration officials to obstruct travel or extort bribes.
Olugbenga warned that Nigeria could take broader retaliatory measures, including a clampdown on South African companies.
“Their companies here in Nigeria are making more profit than in South Africa. They bring in half-baked graduates and place them above better qualified Nigerians, and we have been overlooking that before now. There are many ways to hit back,” he told the Senate.
Nigeria is the biggest market for South Africa’s MTN mobile operator. South Africa’s Shoprite and Standard Bank Group also have profitable operations in Nigeria.
Nigeria and South Africa have been at odds diplomatically at the African Union several times, including over the conflicts sparked by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s and Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo’s bids to stay in power last year.
South Africa backed Gbagbo and Gaddafi as counterweights to Western hegemony, even when the two men began killing opposition demonstrators, while Nigeria backed intervention to oust them.
Forged yellow fever vaccination certificates are easy to buy from hawkers at Lagos airport.
Unlike many African countries, relatively developed South Africa has the facilities to check whether they are fake.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A MASON IN NIGERIA

By
 After all i have said about this fraternity if you are still interested in becoming a mason there are just simply ways in which you can do that, but inspite of my post i am neither encouraging nor discouraging you all i am doing is just to let you know more about this frat and there's more to come about those who have joined, the so called stars like jay-z, kanye west etc i guess its just 7 simple ways to join and off you go  Are there things you want to accomplish in your life? Are there ways you want to enrich yourself? Do you enjoy being with people you like and respect? As a Freemason, you’ll find friendship and fraternity. You’ll develop life skills like self-confidence, leadership, and effective communication. You’ll learn to work as part of a team  and to better yourself as you help others. Think about taking the first step into becoming a Mason. It is widely thought that one must be invited to become a Freemason or that Freemasonry is so exclusive as to be b...
240 comments
Read more

President Goodluck Jonathan Sets-Up Amnesty Committee For Boko-Haram

By
President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the constitution of a Presidential Committee to "constructively engage key members of Boko Haram and define a comprehensive and workable framework for resolving the crisis of insecurity in the country." Announcing the setting up of the committee, a statement by Dr Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity stated that the committee's terms of reference will include: -Developing a framework for the granting of amnesty -Setting up of a framework through which disarmament could take place within a 60-day time frame -Development of a comprehensive victims' support programme -Development of mechanisms to address the underlying causes of insurgencies that will help to prevent future occurrences. The committee is made up of the following Nigerians: Committee on dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the north 1.Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties - Chairman 2....
Post a Comment
Read more