South Africa: Tinubu Takes Fight Against Xenophobic, Afrophobic Attacks By South Africa to AU

What the report says

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has taken complaints about recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks in South Africa to the African Union, according to reporting from This Day carried by AllAfrica. In a message delivered by Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the AU’s 21st Extraordinary Session in Luanda, Angola, Tinubu said the attacks on Africans and other nationals weaken continental solidarity, unity and peaceful coexistence.

The Nigerian leader asked AU members to put the issue on the agenda of the Assembly’s 40th ordinary session, which is scheduled for January 2027. He urged African leaders to reaffirm commitments to the safety, protection and dignity of all African nationals, while acknowledging South Africa’s right to enforce immigration laws and its role on the continent.

Beyond the South Africa dispute, Tinubu used the AU platform to call for stronger preventive diplomacy and collective action on Africa’s wider security challenges. He backed the Luanda Action Plan as a practical framework for conflict prevention and warned that fragmented peace efforts and growing outside military involvement could weaken African-led responses.

The comments reflect Nigeria’s push for a coordinated continental approach to migration-related tensions and security crises. In general, xenophobia has been a recurring political and social issue in parts of South Africa, and African Union leaders often discuss how to balance sovereignty, migration control and the protection of foreign nationals.