Nigeria has boycotted the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa 2019 which will take place in Cape Town, South Africa because of Xenophobic attacks against its citizens.
The Forum, which started on Wednesday, had no delegation from Nigeria in attendance and other African countries like Rwanda, Malawi and DR Congo also joined Nigeria in ignoring the event.
The government is also thinking about possible actions from within after some Nigerians carried out reprisal attacks against South African businesses in Nigeria, which includes attacks on one of Africa’s largest food retailer, Shoprite, and telecoms giant, MTN, forcing the organizations to scale down operations.
“President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have taken hands-on approach in resolving the Xenophobia issue with South Africa but they want everything done diplomatically,” a source in the Presidency said.
“The boycott of WEF is another strong statement to the South African government and people because the Buhari administration will not stand and fold its arms after attack on any Nigerian citizen. This is the right step in the right direction.”
