Edo Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, and Arise TV anchor Rufai Oseni engaged in a heated debate over calls to nationalise South African businesses in Nigeria following renewed xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
During the discussion on Tuesday, Oshiomhole reiterated his demand that the Nigerian government take over South African-owned businesses such as MTN Group and MultiChoice, the owner of DSTV.
“We should re-privatise [them] so Nigerians can take them over,” Oshiomhole argued, stressing that it will put pressure on the South African government to act against attacks on foreigners.
Oshiomhole argued that targeting the economic interests of South African leaders would force them to respond more seriously to the violence against Nigerians living in the country.
He claimed that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa only reacted publicly to the attacks after his comments in the Nigerian Senate threatened South African economic interests in Nigeria.
He said, ‘’The President of South Africa is a major shareholder in MTN and as o the time I spoke, he has found it very convenient to keep quiet.
“I am also aware that during his election campaigns, he made the issue that foreigners are taking the jobs of South Africans. Now the South Africans are hungry, there no employment and they have transferred aggression against black people.
“So I said, when you hit Ramaphosa, you touch his economic interest in Nigeria, he will speak out. Call your colleagues in South Africa, they will tell you after they watched what I said on the Nigerian Senate, Ramaphosa came out to condemn the attacks on black people. He didn’t do so until I threatened his interest.”
Rufai Oseni, however, questioned the practicality of the proposal, raising concerns about Nigerian investors who own shares in the companies, and warned that such actions could discourage foreign direct investment in Nigeria.
The Arise TV anchor argued that it would send the wrong message to international investors if the government could suddenly take over private businesses.
‘’But it is the same government that is saying it wants Foreign Direct Investments. How does that sound? where you can arbitrarily nationalise people’s shares who come to invest in your country, and you want Foreign Direct Investments?” he said.
In response, Oshiomhole insisted that protecting Nigerian lives should come before protecting investments or business interests.
The senator maintained that human lives are more important than economic gain and said Nigeria should not prioritise attracting investors over the safety of its citizens abroad.
He said, “If anything leads to the death of Nigerians, what is the value of wealth to the dead? If it is your own value system to say investment is more important than the life of Nigerians that are being wasted and killed in South Africa and the government is not on record to have convicted anyone and I know that those in South Africa are making money from Nigerian economy and carting away that money to South Africa.
‘In my judgment, life is more important. we do not want investors who will invest at the expense of human blood.
‘If you need Nigerian blood to service and you do not care about Nigerian human blood because you ant to attract investors, I will say, even in my poverty, I value my life”
Watch the video below:
ALSO READ: Reps Urge FG To Review Nigeria–South Africa Agreements Over Xenophobia
Leave a Reply