NEWS
South Africa: Adeboye warns over plans to evacuate Nigerians
Published
September 8, 2019
Michael Nnamdi
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has urged Nigerians at home not to avenge the attacks on their compatriots in South Africa.
Nigeria and South Africa locked in bitter diplomatic row over the xenophobic violence in the former apartheid country, leading to the looting of property belonging to Nigerians.
And the Federal Government is making arrangements to evacuate Nigerians willing to leave South Africa for home.
Adeboye, who called for caution, said the Federal Government should be allowed to use diplomatic means to resolve the crisis.
According to him, Nigerians travel to South Africa in search of greener pastures since there are fewer opportunities for them in their country.
In his sermon that started at about 11pm during the September edition of the monthly Holy Ghost Service at the Redemption Camp along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday, Adeboye said, “I beg you in the name of God, don’t retaliate against South Africa.”
He said this in the presence of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who was with his wife, Dolapo.
The pastor recalled his experience as a student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He said as the civil war was about to start, students at the University of Ibadan were seized in the Western Region and he and other non-easterners were also seized in the Eastern Region.
He said, “At that time, I was at the University of Nigeria (Enugu State). Col Odumegwu Ojukwu said (on radio in 1966) he could no longer guarantee the safety of those who came from outside the Eastern Region. We were in regions then. So, he told all of us who were not easterners to go home. And all our brothers who were of eastern origin sympathised with us, because our studies at Nsukka were coming to an abrupt end.
“The university authorities called a meeting and they told us that they would make arrangements to transport those of us who were not of eastern origin to our regions. Suddenly, news came over the radio that the students at the University of Ibadan were concerned about their brethren from the East and that they were holding them (easterners) to ransom, saying they would not be released until everybody from Western Region had come back home.
He said, “At that time, I was at the University of Nigeria (Enugu State). Col Odumegwu Ojukwu said (on radio in 1966) he could no longer guarantee the safety of those who came from outside the Eastern Region. We were in regions then. So, he told all of us who were not easterners to go home. And all our brothers who were of eastern origin sympathised with us, because our studies at Nsukka were coming to an abrupt end.
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“The university authorities called a meeting and they told us that they would make arrangements to transport those of us who were not of eastern origin to our regions. Suddenly, news came over the radio that the students at the University of Ibadan were concerned about their brethren from the East and that they were holding them (easterners) to ransom, saying they would not be released until everybody from Western Region had come back home.
He said, “At that time, I was at the University of Nigeria (Enugu State). Col Odumegwu Ojukwu said (on radio in 1966) he could no longer guarantee the safety of those who came from outside the Eastern Region. We were in regions then. So, he told all of us who were not easterners to go home. And all our brothers who were of eastern origin sympathised with us, because our studies at Nsukka were coming to an abrupt end.
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“The university authorities called a meeting and they told us that they would make arrangements to transport those of us who were not of eastern origin to our regions. Suddenly, news came over the radio that the students at the University of Ibadan were concerned about their brethren from the East and that they were holding them (easterners) to ransom, saying they would not be released until everybody from Western Region had come back home.
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