President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa, called
for more tolerance, vigilance and heightened security in countries to
ensure safety of citizens, noting that competition heralded by
globalization, especially with ease in migration, will only get more
intense for businesses.
Responding to questions during a press conference at the Union Building,
alongside his host, President Cyril Ramaphosa, the President said
authorities should be more pro-active in detecting early signals of
violence between competitors, while migrants and companies should adhere
to the local laws of countries.
“Police must be on alert not to allow violence to escalate,” he said.
President Buhari said the business world had turned out more dynamic
over the years, with foreigners competing with locals in businesses that
were initially considered low. He said the panacea would only be for
security agencies to show more interest in market operations, players
and likely areas of tensions.
The President likened the situation of Nigerians in South Africa to
Ghana where competition at low levels of the economy breeds intense
competition, noting that it will keep growing with population explosion.
The President told Nigerians living in various parts of the world,
especially in South Africa, to adhere with the laws of the country they
reside, and ensure compliance with market laws.
“Like it is said, ‘when you are in Rome behave like the Romans’. Always
be law abiding,” he said.
Earlier in his remark, the President condemned attacks on Nigerians and
the burning of their properties in South Africa, describing it as
“unacceptable”, while assuring the South African government that their
citizens and businesses in Nigeria will always be protected from harm.
He also condemned the reprisal attacks in Nigeria.
“In my discussions with President Ramaphosa and the Bi-National
Commission meeting, we reviewed wide range of issues at national,
regional, continental and global levels,” he added.
He said some of the issues were on trade, investment, mining, security,
police affairs and environment. “Our two countries have also agreed to
unequivocally address the challenges in our relations including the
recent people to people challenges that saw attacks against foreign
nationals, including Nigerians, and their properties, which we strongly
condemned.”
In his remarks, President Ramaphosa said the attacks on foreigners in
South Africa, including Nigerians, were regrettable, assuring that his
government will work hard to see an end to such attacks. He also
condemned reprisal attacks in Nigeria.
He said President Buhari is the first president to embark on a state
visit in South Africa since they came into power.
“We will work together to promote cohesion and best values. What
happened did not reflect our values. We both condemn the attacks and the
reprisal in strongest terms. We will set up mechanisms for early
signals,” he said.
President Ramaphosa said his country will also create a more enabling
environment for Nigerian businesses to thrive in South Africa,
acknowledging that more South African companies operate in Nigeria,
while Nigerians were mostly in Small and Medium Scale sectors in his
country.
“We have large corporations operating in Nigeria while you have small
and medium enterprises from Nigeria here in South Africa.” He promised
to deepen the reforms in his country to open the space for more Nigerian
business to “address the imbalance”.
“The rule of law must be obeyed by all citizens. Nigerians in South
Africa must obey the rule of law, while South Africans in Nigeria must
obey the rule of law,” he said.
Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and South African
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor,
signed agreements on the minutes of the 9th session of Bi-National
Commission.