Vice-President Kashim Shettima has condemned xenophobia and said that Nigerian scholarship allowances were deducted to fund apartheid liberation movements in South Africa.

Shettima made this disclosure on Sunday during the 69th ordinary session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) heads of state in Sierra Leone.

He also condemned the recent xenophobic violence in South Africa, even as the vice-president urged West African leaders to present the matter at the next African Union (AU) summit.

According to Shettima, a united voice from the bloc would send “a clear message that this kind of intolerance is unacceptable” anywhere in the world.

“While we tread the path of moderation, South Africa should be reminded that the freedom the country currently enjoys is due to the liberation efforts of African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana,” he explained.

“Deductions were made from our scholarship allowances to fund liberation movements in Southern Africa. They should learn to know where their problem lies. Their problems do not lie with fellow Africans who are there to sell their skills.”

The Federal Government last Wednesday completed the fifth phase of its voluntary evacuation of Nigerians affected by xenophobic attacks and related security concerns in South Africa, bringing the total number of citizens airlifted home to 1,490.

The latest exercise saw 305 Nigerians return aboard an Air Peace flight that departed O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, on Wednesday morning and landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 11:30 a.m on the same day.

According to a statement signed by the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the aircraft also conveyed three Nigerian government officials who coordinated and supervised the evacuation exercise.

The ministry said the completion of the fifth evacuation phase underscored the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting Nigerians abroad under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

It noted that the evacuation programme, carried out in partnership with Air Peace Limited and South African Airways, had now returned 1,490 Nigerians through a series of humanitarian flights since June.

The ministry said the first evacuation flight, operated by Air Peace on June 10, brought home 258 Nigerians, while South African Airways evacuated 66 others on June 24.

Air Peace subsequently airlifted 272 Nigerians on June 30, another 268 on July 2 and 282 on July 9. South African Airways returned an additional 39 Nigerians on July 11 before the fifth phase concluded on Wednesday with the evacuation of 305 returnees.

It explained that the evacuation followed sustained diplomatic engagement between Nigeria and South Africa in response to security concerns arising from ongoing xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals, including Nigerians.

Nigeria has also aired its grievances with the South African government since the latest xenophobic crisis began in April. According to reports, at least four Nigerians were killed in the violent protests.

Minister of foreign affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had spoken out against the violence meted on Nigerians in South Africa, saying that the country was not happy because it “sacrificed much for the South African struggle for independence”.

“Nigeria sacrificed quite a lot, committed funds, committed resources to aid South Africa. In schools, seats were reserved for South African students. My own generation carried placards; we demonstrated in front of South African assets,” she said.

“Sometimes we even got arrested for doing this. Nigeria is a serious frontline state, and Nigerians are not happy about how they have been treated. They are not asking other migrants to leave; they’re only asking black migrants to leave.”