Nigerians Attack Ezekwesili, Jim Ovia For Attending WEF In South Africa Despite Xenophobic Attacks

Last updated: September 5, 2019 8:24 am

A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia are both under heavy attack for attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting holding in South Africa amid protests by Nigerian and other countries against xenophobic attacks by South Africans.

Mrs. Ezekwesili, a social critic and former presidential candidate, and Ovia were criticized by some Nigerians on Twitter for attending the forum despite the Federal Government shunning the forum to protest the xenophobic attacks against Nigerians residing in South Africa.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, had tweeted that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo was to represent Nigeria at the WEF, but “he had called it off in reaction to these gruesome attacks on Nigerians.”

By Wednesday evening, pictures surfaced across social media showing Mrs. Ezekwesili and Jim Ovia, at the WEF event in South Africa. Many Nigerians expressed outrage over their attendance to the international forum amidst diplomatic rows between Nigeria and South Africa.

See some of the reactions below:

https://twitter.com/Bakare_Mubarakk/status/1169325428076683266

https://twitter.com/BlackStCapital/status/1169299569865310208

https://twitter.com/youngichu/status/1169324242745417728

https://twitter.com/mutakb/status/1169338478095732736

https://twitter.com/MrLekanAdigun/status/1169329361775943680

https://twitter.com/walecoker65/status/1169348750982230017

https://twitter.com/PDPVanguard/status/1169368644004065280

https://twitter.com/MimaMercedez/status/1169335432766771200

https://twitter.com/JohnNetworQ/status/1169307250449510400

https://twitter.com/4eyedmonk/status/1169338791766765568

https://twitter.com/PhiiCoco/status/1169330538315993090