Repatriated Nigerians struggle to rebuild lives after South Africa unrest

Repatriation did not end the crisis for Nigerians sent home from South Africa. It only moved the burden, from anti-migrant violence abroad to the hard reality of returning to Lagos with few resources, limited jobs and the same economic insecurity that pushed many to leave in the first place.

The first flight in the latest return wave carried 262 Nigerians to Murtala Muhammed International Airport on June 11. More than 1,000 Nigerians had registered interest in coming back, and South African authorities had processed 586 Nigerian nationals for repatriation at one stage of the operation. For many returnees, the journey home meant confronting not a fresh start but the task of rebuilding in a country where work is scarce, rent is high and family ties may have frayed after years abroad.

The political response has been as fraught as the migration itself. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa warned against scapegoating migrants for the country’s economic problems, while South African labour unions urged workers not to join anti-migrant protests. In Nigeria, officials said they were considering retaliatory measures over attacks on Nigerians and other African migrants, underscoring how quickly xenophobic violence can spill into diplomacy and trade tensions between the two countries.

This was not the first time Nigeria had brought citizens home from South Africa after deadly hostility. In September 2019, Nigeria repatriated more than 600 of its citizens after xenophobic attacks strained relations between Abuja and Pretoria. UNHCR has said the 2015 attacks in South Africa killed six people and displaced more than 5,000 foreign nationals, and Nigerians with family members in South Africa pressed for evacuation during the 2019 violence. The pattern has been repeated enough to show that each round of attacks creates the same dilemma: leave, or risk staying in a place where migrants have become political targets.

The reintegration challenge is now landing back in Nigeria’s own fragile economy. The International Organization for Migration says return and reintegration support is meant to address economic, social and psychosocial needs, and its Nigeria program can help with business start-up support, studies or medical fees. The agency says it has facilitated the safe return of more than 60,000 Nigerians stranded on migration routes across West and Central Africa since 2017, and more than 14,216 migrants have received return and reintegration support under its joint initiative.

That assistance matters because the broader backdrop remains unforgiving. The World Bank lists Nigeria’s most recent unemployment estimate at 3.5% for 2024, while the National Bureau of Statistics says real GDP grew 3.89% year on year in the first quarter of 2026. Growth has not translated into stable livelihoods for many households. For the Nigerians arriving back in Lagos, the choice is stark: try again at home, or search for another way out of an economy that still leaves too many people stranded.