A Nigerian woman, Emilia Godwin, has lamented that her relocation to South Africa with her husband has proved a huge loss for her, as she lost him in the country.
She also vowed never to return to the country after she was repatriated back to Nigeria with 257 other Nigerians by the Federal Government.
Emilia spoke to The Cable shortly after arriving at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
She described her experience in South Africa as horrible. She alleged that Nigerians living in South Africa face discrimination, violence, and hostility from some locals.
“Now I am in my country, and I have my mouth to speak. They are wicked. They do not like us. If you enter a place, they make a jest of you, they beat you. We are like slaves there. We cannot speak. If you talk too much, they start hitting you,” she said.
Emilia, who was visibly upset during the interview, said she had no intention of ever returning to South Africa despite the fact that her daughter was born there and is a citizen of the country.
According to her, she had been living in South Africa since 2014 but began to have a rethink three years into their sojourn in SA>
She disclosed that she had been looking for an opportunity to leave the country for several years before the recent evacuation became possible.
“I have been in South Africa since 2014. I started seeing these signs, but I did not get the opportunity to come back until now. They are wicked,” she added.
Emilia also made a series of serious allegations, claiming that her husband was killed in South Africa and linking his death to the hostility she says Nigerians face in the country.
She further alleged that some South African women deliberately target Nigerian men in relationships, a claim she said has affected several Nigerian families living there.
“Some of them do not care if a Nigerian man is married. They want to have children with them so they can take their property and kill them the way they killed my husband,” she alleged.
Emilia hinted that her husband was entrapped by a South African woman, who shifted his focus from her and her child.
She alleged that this was why she did not have a second child for her husband.
The evacuees, including Emilia, were part of a group of 258 Nigerians brought back to the country through a Federal Government-assisted repatriation exercise.
The returnees were received at the airport by officials who coordinated their evacuation amid ongoing concerns affecting Nigerian nationals abroad.
The incident has since sparked reactions online, with many social media users sharing mixed opinions over her comments and the broader experiences of Nigerians living in South Africa.
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