Nigerians who are preparing to be evacuated from South Africa following anti-immigration protests could be airlifted as early as Thursday this week. The timeline was set out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signalling that the operation to bring citizens home is moving into its final stages.
According to the ministry, more than 1,000 Nigerians are being screened before they are allowed to travel. The screening is being carried out by the Nigerian High Commission and the Consulate General in Pretoria and Johannesburg, the two cities at the centre of the evacuation effort.
To carry the returnees, the federal government has prepared five flights. The ministry said arrangements are also in place to ensure an easy transition for those being brought back, so that their return does not end at the airport.
Officials explained why the screening step matters so much. The aim is to avoid a situation in which people who are not Nigerian are brought into the country, a problem seen in past evacuations where, as one official put it, every black African would claim to be Nigerian when an evacuation flight was arranged.
The verification is not being done by Nigeria alone. The Nigerian mission is conducting the screening together with relevant South African authorities, including the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, the South African Police and the South African Immigration Service.
Plans are also in place for what happens after the flights land. On arrival in Lagos, the returnees are to be taken to a camp operated by the Nigerian Refugee Commission, where they will be debriefed before moving on.
From there, the ministry said, the focus shifts to resettlement. Officials indicated that returnees would be given starter packs and small tokens to help them move from Lagos to their respective states, easing the first steps of their return to life in Nigeria.