Two communities in South Africa have been accused of giving Nigerians quit notice from their territories.
The accusation was made by President of the Nigeria Union in South Africa, Ikechukwu Anyene, on Wednesday.
Anyene listed the community as Kuruman in Northern Cape Province, which gave Nigerians till Thursday to leave the place, and Klaafontein, Extension 5 in Johannesburg, which is said to have directed landlords not to renew the rent of Nigerians in the area.
He said the grievance of the South Africans was that Nigerians were responsible for some social vices such as illicit drug trade and prostitution.
Anyene said a Ugandan man, who allegedly raped a girl in Kwazulu Natal Province, was described as a Nigerian in the media.
“The Nigeria union held series of meetings with the affected communities as well as police and local authorities on the recent threats to Nigerians,” Anyene told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
“We have also written reports on these incidents and sent to the Nigerian Mission and the South African police.
“We recommended interventions before the June 16 deadline to the mission and we are waiting for their response. The union is worried that any incident involving non -South Africans are attributed to Nigerians.
“The union believes that the Early Warning Unit set up by Nigerian and South African governments has not been effective. We are yet to have any meeting since the ministers of the two countries met.
“Since then, there have been sustained media propaganda against our people.”
Dozens of shops and houses owned by Nigerians were torched and looted in a wave of xenophobic violence earlier this year.
Attacks against foreigners and foreign-run businesses have erupted regularly in recent years in South Africa, fuelled by the country’s high unemployment levels and dire poverty.
More than 20 shops were targeted in Atteridgeville, outside Pretoria, while residents in Rosettenville, south of Johannesburg, attacked at least 12 houses in February.
Many locals have alleged that their targets were brothels and drug dens being run by migrants from elsewhere in Africa, including Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
