Shoprite stores were attacked in at least one area of Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, according to the local government. The grocer said several stores in South Africa, Nigeria and Zambia were unable to open on Wednesday because of protests. MTN, the country’s biggest mobile-phone company, closed Lagos offices after following retaliatory attacks at some operations.
The attacks in South Africa are an embarrassment for President Cyril Ramaphosa as he hosts leaders and delegates from across the continent at the World Economic Forum Africa summit in Cape Town. The violence has also undermined his assurances that the continent’s most industrialized economy is open for business.
A statement from MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Ferdi Moolman said the group “strongly condemns hate, prejudice and xenophobia and reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of all violence.” A banner displaying the same sentiment was set up outside the company’s operations in Abuja, the capital. Shoprite and Pepkor released similar statements.
Nigeria’s diplomatic response was swift. President Muhammadu Buhari announced he was dispatching an envoy to his South African counterpart President Cyril Ramaphosa. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo — on his way to a meeting of African political and business leaders in Cape Town on Wednesday — said it’s “sad and very unfortunate that the lives and livelihoods of Nigerians living in South Africa are once again being destroyed.
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