'Revoke DSTV!' - Oshiomhole calls for economic retaliation against South Africa over xenophobic attacks on Nigerians

• Senator Adams Oshiomhole called for sanctions on South African companies like MTN and DSTV over attacks on Nigerians.

• He urged economic retaliation in response to renewed xenophobic violence targeting foreign nationals in South Africa.

• The Senate declined the proposal, while lawmakers instead pushed diplomatic and humanitarian responses.

Nigerian Senator Adams Oshiomhole took the floor of the Senate on Tuesday with a blunt message for the federal government to hit back.

The senator representing Edo North Senatorial District called for the revocation of licences of South African companies operating in Nigeria, including telecommunications giant MTN and pay-television provider DSTV, following a renewed wave of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.

"If you hit me, I hit you," Oshiomhole declared during plenary, framing the proposed economic countermeasures as a matter of diplomatic principle, not aggression.

He argued that South Africans who claim Nigerians are taking their jobs should be made to reckon with what Nigerian-controlled replacements of MTN and DSTV would look like. "When we hit back," he said, "the president of South Africa will not only talk, but will go on his knees."

The senator's remarks showed a man not interested in mourning, but in pressure. He linked the current tensions to broader political dynamics in South Africa, noting that anti-immigrant sentiment has featured prominently in the country's domestic politics and has been influencing attitudes toward foreign nationals, including Nigerians.

The attacks that prompted his outburst have been escalating for weeks. Since late March, foreign-owned properties have been set ablaze, immigrants have been barred from receiving hospital care, and many have been driven from their livelihoods.

The violence has been broadly directed at foreigners, though Nigerians have been among the most visible targets.

Oshiomhole's proposal to revoke the operational licences of MTN and DSTV was ultimately declined on procedural grounds, with the Senate President emphasising diplomatic engagement as the preferred path, and stating that economic retaliation against businesses would not be the preferred course of action.

But the larger legislative response was firm. The House of Representatives strongly condemned the attacks and mandated its Committee on Foreign Affairs to work with the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria to establish a 24-hour emergency response desk and a legal aid fund for affected citizens.

Lawmakers also urged the government to develop a comprehensive evacuation contingency plan, including financial and logistical support for Nigerians willing to return home.

The House also recommended a review of all bilateral agreements with South Africa, including trade and aviation treaties, and called for targeted economic measures such as a temporary suspension of business permits for new South African companies, pending demonstrable steps by Pretoria to halt the attacks, prosecute perpetrators, and compensate victims.

This is not the first time Nigeria has found itself at this crossroads. Major outbreaks of xenophobic violence in 2008, 2015, and 2019 saw foreign nationals, many of them Nigerians, targeted in widespread attacks on homes, shops, and businesses, with Nigeria at times recalling envoys and evacuating citizens in response.

What makes this moment distinctive is the growing domestic pressure demanding more than condemnation. Nigerian citizens want action. Their lawmakers are listening, even if, for now, the loudest proposals remain on the table rather than in effect.

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