Nigerian High Commission insists Ramaphosa intervened in Fani-Kayode row

The Nigerian High Commission in South Africa has insisted that President Cyril Ramaphosa intervened in the controversy surrounding the presentation of diplomatic credentials by Nigeria’s newly accredited High Commissioner, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. The commission made the clarification while responding to South African Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, who accused Fani-Kayode of lying about Ramaphosa’s intervention in the disagreement over the omission of his address during Friday’s credentials ceremony in Tshwane.

In a strongly worded statement posted on X, the Nigerian mission described Magwenya’s remarks as provocative and diplomatically inappropriate, accusing him of attempting to portray the Nigerian envoy as dishonest. “You are the disgrace and no-one else. Outside of that your insolence and ignorance knows no bounds,” the commission said. “Our Ambassador, H.E.

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, was treated with contempt and disdain and by extension so was Nigeria. H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who we have the utmost respect for, did the right thing by intervening. We got the result we wanted. End of story”. The controversy followed the apparent disruption of the South African Presidency’s YouTube livestream around the time Fani-Kayode was due to present his letters of credence to Ramaphosa.

The livestream subsequently resumed when the South African President was addressing the ambassadors. Fani-Kayode, who was the last diplomat to present his credentials, had expressed displeasure over the omission of his address from the ceremony. He said that Ramaphosa intervened and assured him that everything was fine. However, Magwenya disputed the account, prompting the Nigerian High Commission to reiterate that the South African President personally intervened to resolve the disagreement.

The commission said: “Thankfully your President had the decency and presence of mind to put out the fire and direct you and your state broadcaster to do the right thing. He literally saved the day.” The Nigerian mission also recalled an earlier controversy in which Magwenya reportedly described concerns raised by President Bola Tinubu and Ghanaian President John Mahama over xenophobia and Afrophobia in South Africa as fake news.

It said Nigeria had previously refrained from escalating the matter but questioned Magwenya’s latest remarks against the newly accredited Nigerian envoy. “Did you really expect him to simply stomach your ill manners and keep quiet? If so, you have misunderstood the character and nature of the Nigerian. We cannot be easily cowed,” the commission said.

The mission further disclosed that several newly accredited ambassadors witnessed the proceedings, adding that it had the full video recording of events following the official photographs. It maintained that the disagreement should have been handled through established diplomatic channels rather than public exchanges. While urging Magwenya to exercise restraint and embrace reconciliation, the commission said its primary concern was preserving cordial relations between Nigeria and South Africa.

“To us this matter is closed but if you wish to escalate it you are welcome to do so and we are up to the task. A word is enough for the wise,” it added.