South Africa’s Consul General in Lagos, Bobby Moroe, has called for healing and reconciliation between Nigeria and South Africa following anti-migrant violence carried out by vigilante groups in South Africa, insisting the perpetrators do not represent the country’s true character.

Delivering the keynote address at a Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce breakfast forum in Lagos, Moroe said the South African government has clearly condemned the acts of criminality against foreigners, noting that law enforcement has arrested more than 80 suspects across six provinces who will soon face prosecution. He said the South African constitution protects both regular and irregular migrants, and that only competent law enforcement agencies have legal standing to handle migration matters, dismissing as false any suggestion that the government itself has launched an assault on migrants.

Moroe said the two countries should reconcile and work together toward a better future, recalling that this year marks 32 years of unbroken diplomatic relations built on solidarity dating back to Nigeria’s support for South Africa’s liberation struggle. He said a moment of anger should not erase a lifetime of solidarity, calling on both nations to fall in love again with each other’s people, and stressed that healing must be reflected in trade and shared economic work rather than words alone.

He said both countries share responsibility for creating socioeconomic conditions that generate jobs and reduce poverty, arguing this is the most effective long term response to the tensions around migration. Moroe also called on Nigeria and South Africa to speak with one voice in pushing for two permanent African seats with veto power on the United Nations Security Council, alongside reform of the Bretton Woods institutions to reflect today’s economic realities, and urged the two countries to lead together rather than compete under the African Continental Free Trade Area.