Xenophobic attacks: MTN Office Shut Down In Benin City

Business activities at the headquarters of telecommunication giant, the MTN, were on Monday paralyzed when some youths under the aegis of the Flagship protested xenophobic killings in South Africa.

The protesters barricaded entrance to MTN office along Murtala Mohammed Way in Benin City as early as 7:00am.

Placards carried by the protesters had inscriptions such as “Xenophobia is ‎Inhuman,” “Zuma Call Your Boys to Order,” “South Africans can’t be making money from us and be Killing us,” “Nigerians boycott South Africa companies.”

Spokesperson for the protesters, Austin Enabulele, said the protest was a warning to South Africa government to put a stop to the attacks on Nigerians or risk losing its foreign investments.

Enabulele said the attack on foreigners by South Africans was inhuman and condemnable.

He said, “We are all Africans. We wonder why they should attack our fellow Nigerians who are doing their legitimate businesses in South Africa, when we have shown them love to operate in Nigeria.

“We have come here to say to (President Jacob) Zuma to call his people to order because if he fails to call them to order we will do the needful. We are aware of all their businesses in Nigeria. We know of MTN, we know of Shoprite; we know of Multichoice Company and we know of every other companies that belong to South Africa.

“We will shut down all their services if they continue the killing of our brothers and sisters. So, we have come here to tell them to put an end to the killing of our brothers and sisters who are doing their legitimate jobs in South Africa,” he said.

Vice President of the group, Gloria Noren‎, said South Africans were not showing gratitude for the financial support from Nigeria during the apartheid era.

She said, “We have videos of Nigerians that have been killed, I personally watched the video.‎ How can someone come out to say that we are taking their jobs from them? What about the money they are making from us?

“Nigeria spent over N60 billion fighting apartheid for them. Why should we extend love to them and they extend hatred to us. It is totally inhuman, distasteful, it is disgusting.

“We are sending this message to ‎our Nigerian government to go ahead and retrieve all Nigerians from South Africa because we cannot keep losing our brethren.”