Senator Adams Oshiomhole has defended his call for the nationalization of MTN and other South African companies operating in Nigeria, insisting that Nigerian lives must take precedence over foreign investment amid renewed xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Oshiomhole stated this on Tuesday during an interview on Arise News, where he argued that Nigeria should take stronger economic action against South African interests in response to repeated attacks on Nigerians abroad.
“I am aware that MTN is quoted, and therefore Nigerian shareholders can hold on, but we take away the South African rights,” he said.
He also noted that, in his view, Nigeria should consider restructuring ownership of affected firms to ensure local control.
“And because of the issue, I’m not sure of the legal status; that’s why I say you nationalize, and then you reprivatize it so that Nigerians can take it over, and the profit they are taking out of Nigeria will be retained here. There will be no South African share in it.”
During the interview, Oshiomhole defended his position against worries that such initiatives would deter foreign investment, claiming that life-saving measures should take precedence above economic considerations.
“If anything leads to the death of Nigeria, what is the value of wealth to the dead? We don’t want investors who invest at the expense of human blood. Even in my poverty, I value my life,” he said.
When pressed on worries that nationalization might scare investors, he insisted that the moral question was fundamental.
“Is the human economy, weight, or foreign investor or foreign dollar more important than the life of a Nigerian?” he asked.
Oshiomhole mentioned repeated killings of Nigerians in South Africa had gone without accountability.
“When a country, for the first time, kills Nigerians, they got away with it. The second time, they riot, they kill Nigerians, and they get away with it. Third time, they killed Nigerians; they got away with it,” he said.
He also cited previous diplomatic contacts, claiming that commitments had not prevented the attacks.
“Under Buhari, there was an agreement. They broke it. They are killing Nigerians. Nobody is in prison for murder, extrajudicial murder,” he said.
He questioned the priority of foreign investment over human lives.
“If you are a slave of wealth, if you are a slave of a foreign investor, even if that investor is blood-soaked… what is money to the dead?” he inquired.
He added that Nigeria should not continue to bear losses while its nationals are exposed abroad.
