The Nigerian government has reacted to reports that South African mobs are attacking Nigerians, burning their properties and even killing and maiming, in a fresh burst of xenophobia.

Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria’s foreign minister tweeted Nigeria’s exasperation to the ‘sickening and depressing news’ of attacks against Nigerian citizens.

Onyeama, who is not given to banging the table told the South African government: “Enough is Enough’ and promised that Nigerians will take ‘definitive measures’.

He did not however indicate what measures the country would pursue to protect Nigerians in South Africa.

The xenophobia raging in South Africa was discussed between President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria’s President Buhari on the sideline of the TICAD 7 meeting in Yokohama in Japan last week. President Buhari is scheduled to visit South Africa in October.

Received sickening and depressing news of continued burning and looting of Nigerian shops and premises in #SouthAfrica by mindless criminals with ineffective police protection. Enough is enough. We will take definitive measures.

In a fresh report of xenophobic rage, South Africans attacked, looted and burnt businesses and properties belonging to foreigners.

Three Nigerians were also reportedly killed, while another is still receiving treatment for smoke inhalation.

The President of the Nigeria Union South Africa (NUSA), Adetola Olubajo said that the attacks began on Sunday morning in Jeppestown area of Johannesburg when a building was set ablaze by a mob.

“The mob also looted several shops that were around the vicinity suspected to be owned by foreign nationals.

“But the Police later dispersed the mob and made some arrest,’’ he said in a statement.

“Late in the evening of Sunday, Sept. 1, a group of violent locals suspected to be Zulu hostel dwellers besieged Jules Street in Malvern, Johannesburg looted and burned shops/businesses.’’

According to witnesses living on Jules street, the Zulu hostel dwellers were very organised and well-coordinated in looting and burning of any shops/businesses suspected to be owned by foreign nationals.

Olubajo said that information gathered by members of NUSA in Malvern area, indicated that over 50 shops/businesses were destroyed, looted and burnt over the night.

“Also, some businesses owned by foreign nationals were looted in Germiston on Sunday evening. A Nigerian-owned Internet Café and computer accessories business was among the looted shops in Germiston.

“When I got the sad news late yesterday (Sunday) evening, I immediately informed the Police in Jeppestown but lots of damage had been done already.

“The means of livelihood of people were looted and destroyed by fire overnight which have left many Nigerians traumatised.

“Nigerian-owned businesses were seriously affected. A car sales business owned by a Nigerian were among the several businesses set ablaze over the night.

“Although the Police said that many people had been arrested in connection with the unnecessary attacks, the looting and burning of foreign-owned businesses continued till Monday morning,’’ he said.

He added that properties and businesses belonging to foreign nationals worth millions of Rands had been lost to looting and burning in the past week at different locations in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Olubajo said that there was massive protest march in different parts of Johannesburg which were targeted against foreign nationals, noting that some of the areas affected by the violent protest march were Rosettenville, Turfontein, Germison, Primrose and Silverton in Pretoria.

“We implore the security operatives to be proactive and not reactive as many long years hard earned investments have been lost through looting, destruction and burning.

“Our government officials in South Africa should also seriously engage their counterparts in South Africa.

“This proactive move will go a long way to prevent further loss of properties and even lives. The situation is tensed and very dangerous for foreign nationals, hence, we implore Nigerians in South Africa, most especially in Gauteng Province to be vigilant and stay safe,’’ he said.

Nigeria, as Africa’s leading economy has everything it takes for businesses to thrive, and for the country to join the comity of developed nations.

This was the submission of Mr. Jackie Dai Hui, Deputy General Manager of Sinoria FABCOM, a Chinese manufacturing company, aiming to enter the Nigerian market.

He stated this while speaking to journalists in Abuja on plans by the company to float a fiber cement board manufacturing factory.

He also noted that a few years from now many companies in China will find it cheaper to set up factories in the country, because of its huge market potentials which can also become the base for servicing the rest of the African markets.

According to him, “Nigeria has all it takes, the raw materials are there and skilled manpower is on the rise, it is only a question of time and I believe this would be very soon, our company Sinoria FABCOM want to be part of the industrial growth and development of Nigeria and that is why we are reinvesting our profit in the new factory rather than taking it back to China.”

Sinoria FABCOM is part of the Chinese global giant, CNBM, a Fortune 500 company, and already has an industrial complex in Kuje Abuja which was set up four years ago for the manufacturing of stone coated roofing sheet.

Jacke Dai Hui said that Sinoria FABCOM wants “to use its building materials expertise to help Nigeria solve the problem of its housing need by providing quality but affordable building materials to the Nigerian housing sector.”

Zimbabwe’s first Billionaire Strive Masiyiwa has come out to say he doesn’t own Econet. Strive explained Econet is a public trading company with tens of thousands of shareholders.

Strive explained he is just the largest single shareholder. Strive also said many people struggled to separate institutions and corporate structures and only saw a person and he called that a “BigMan” idea.

Writing on his Facebook Strive said:

I have never personally held more than 50%, since (Econet) was listed. So I actually don’t own the company. I’m simply the largest single shareholder But) you will still find even media people saying of a public listed entity ‘the Strive Masiyiwa-owned business’.

And some will even ask me to intervene on things I have no idea about, and should not be expected to know. They never shook away the BigMan idea developed when they were young. Many of us simply struggle to see institutions and corporate structures, and only see a person.

- Hararelive

Equatorial Guinea is set to construct West Africa’s first LNG storage and regas plant. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons announced the plans and said that the project aims to monetise gas resources through the creation of domestic gas-to-power infrastructure.

The plant will be built by American manufacturer Corban Energy Group and spearheaded by local construction and engineering firm Elite Construcciones. German companies ESC Engineers and Noordtec are also working closely with Elite Construcciones in the design, development and construction of the LNG project.

Akonikien LNG project.

The Akonikien LNG project will have a storage capacity of 14,000 cubic meters with 12 bullet tanks. The tanks will have a capacity of 1,228 cubic meters and dimensions of 31 meters by 9.3 metres by 8.8 metres. Each tank is estimated to require 12 hours to complete the 12,000-metre distance from the port to the new plant.

The storage plant will be located at the Port of Akonikien on the country’s mainland. This will enable the transportation and storage of LNG from the country’s LNG plant at the Punta Europa Gas Complex on Bioko Island, to Akonikien on the southern border of the mainland.

It will then be fed into the regasification plant to be distributed to smaller-scale power plants and LNG power stations throughout the country, as well as exported to neighbouring countries. Elite Construcciones will also install a truck loading station and 12 kilometres of 10-inch gas and diesel pipelines.

West Africa’s first LNG storage and regas plant

“This terminal will be the the first of many upcoming projects under the LNG2Africa initiative. LNG2Africa has a clear objective of developing small-scale LNG projects to supply gas to countries and regions with limited infrastructure,” said Mr. Gabriel.

LNG2Africa initiative was launched by the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons in 2018, the initiative seeks to facilitate the production and trade of LNG through the creation of domestic gas-to-power infrastructure and intra-African LNG industry.

Credit: Construction Review