Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has said that Nigeria will soon deploy its security operatives to South Africa to take part in controlling and stopping the indiscriminate attacks and killing of Nigerians and looting of their properties in that country.The minister, who was answering questions from newsmen after a private audience with President Muhammadu Buhari today, September 3 at the presidential Villa, Abuja said: “we have put forward to the South African government what we think will make a big difference. One of it is with regard to compensation for those who have suffered loss and most importantly, a security proposal that we believe will safeguard the security of Nigerians in the future.
“We are hoping to see the possibility of sending some security agents, deploying them initially in the Nigerian High commission to work closely with the South African police force. We believe that would be a very important process to address and preempt this kind of attacks and possibly for them to also be embedded within the police force of south Africa. So we will have some certain number of Nigeria security people trying to work with the South African police force.”
Onyeama pleaded with Nigerians not to embark on reprisal attacks of South Africans in Nigeria, saying that two wrongs cannot make a right.
“I think in terms of revenge on those kind of attack is not what we are looking forward to. The South African government has assured us that they are doing everything possible to address the situation, that they are equally exasperated by the whole event.
“We believe that with that goodwill, we may be able to work together to put in place these mechanisms that would make a difference.
He said that the special Presidential envoys sent to that country by President Muhammadu Buhari will be leaving for South African will address two key issues: the compensation payment and what security mechanism should be put in place to make sure that these kind of attacks do not recur.
“We need to have a viable mechanism in place. Like I have said, one of the possibilities that we are proposing is to have some Nigerian security operatives working with the South African police and attached to the Nigerian High Commission in south Africa.”
