Anti-Nigerian sentiment[1] is the dislike ofNigeria orNigerians.
Anti-Nigerian sentiment arose amongIgbo people during theNigerian Civil War of 1967–1970, when the predominately Igbo region seceded from Nigeria and attempted to establish an independentRepublic of Biafra.[2] In the 1969Ahiara Declaration, Biafran presidentChukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu stated, "The Federation of Nigeria is today as corrupt, as unprogressive and as oppressive and irreformable as theOttoman Empire was in Eastern Europe over a century ago. And in contrast, the Nigerian Federation in the form it was constituted by the British cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered an African necessity. Yet we are being forced to sacrifice our very existence as a people to the integrity of that ramshackle creation that has no justification either in history or in the freely expressed wishes of the people."[3] Although Biafra was defeated and reintegrated into Nigeria, various Biafran nationalist groups such asIndigenous People of Biafra andMovement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra continue the goal of seceding from Nigeria.
Kenyan police arrested two Nigerian nationals following the discovered death of a Kenyan woman on 14 January 2024.[4] The arrests led to a public campaign among Kenyan citizens to deport Nigerians from the country.[5]
Since the end ofapartheid in 1994, Nigerians and other foreign nationals began migrating toSouth Africa in large numbers. This has led toxenophobic sentiments amongBlack South Africans due to scarce economic opportunities. Nigerians are among the common targets of xenophobia in South Africa.[6] The portrayal of Nigerians as illegal drug dealers has often been used to justify xenophobic violence towards Nigerians in South Africa.[7] On 18 October 2007, South African musicianLucky Dube was shot dead because his assailants allegedly mistook him for a Nigerian.[8]
The 2009 South African science fiction filmDistrict 9 faced controversy for its alleged negative portrayal of Nigerians. Nigeria's Information MinisterDora Akunyili asked movie cinemas around Nigeria to either ban the film or edit out specific references to the country because of the film's negative depiction of the Nigerian characters as criminals and cannibals. Letters of complaint were sent to the producer and distributor of the film demanding an apology. She also said the gang leader Obesandjo is almost identical in spelling and pronunciation to the surname of former Nigerian presidentOlusegun Obasanjo.[9] The film was later banned in Nigeria; the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board was asked to prevent cinemas from showing the film and also to confiscate it.[10]Hakeem Kae-Kazim, a Nigerian-born British actor, also criticised the portrayal of Nigerians in the film.
During the2019 Johannesburg riots, shops owned by Nigerians and other foreign nationals were attacked and looted[11] following the death of ataxi driver.[12] By 3 September, police had made 189 arrests for looting.[13] Around 50 businesses predominantly owned by Nigerians were reportedly destroyed or damaged during the incident.[14] The riots coincided with a nationwide truck driver strike protesting against the employment of non-South African truckers.[15] After riots resulted in 12 deaths in the first week of September, 640 of an estimated 100,000 Nigerians in South Africa signed up to take free flights offered by Nigeria to return to their home country.[16][17]
During theNigerian Civil War, Biafran officials collaborated with American politicians and public relations firms to spread anti-Nigerian sentiments among Americans.[18] The American Committee to Keep Biafra Alive widely propagated negative images of Nigeria and made disputed assertions that Nigeria was committing a mass genocide in Biafra.[19]
