Fani-Kayode Accuses South Africa Of Excluding Nigeria From Livestream

Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has accused officials of the South African Presidency of deliberately excluding Nigeria’s presentation and his speech from the livestream of a diplomatic credentials ceremony attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Fani-Kayode made the allegation in a statement on Friday following the presentation of his Letters of Credence to Ramaphosa at the South African Presidential Guest House in Pretoria.

He said the ceremony featured representatives of 15 countries, all of whom were formally introduced and given the opportunity to deliver speeches, but Nigeria’s segment was omitted from the livestream. According to him, the South African Presidency stopped broadcasting when it was Nigeria’s turn and resumed the transmission after his speech had ended.

He described Nigeria’s exclusion as the only instance in which a country’s presentation was not aired during the event, which he said was watched by Nigerians, South Africans and other members of the international community. The Nigerian envoy said he raised the matter directly with Ramaphosa during a photo session after the ceremony, prompting the South African leader to take him to relevant officials and direct them to address the issue.

However, Fani-Kayode said the intervention came too late to restore Nigeria’s presentation to the livestream. RELATED He added that Nigerian television stations present at the event recorded his speech and would make the footage available to the public. The envoy also disclosed that he declined an interview request from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), saying he had been displeased by the way Nigeria was treated during the broadcast.

Fani-Kayode, however, expressed respect for South Africa and its people, while insisting that he would not tolerate what he considered disrespect towards Nigeria and its citizens. He thanked Ramaphosa for his response to the complaint and said he remained confident in the South African President’s support for continued relations between both countries.

The South African Presidency had earlier announced that Ramaphosa would receive Letters of Credence from representatives of 15 countries, including Nigeria, at Friday’s ceremony. The presentation of Letters of Credence is a formal diplomatic process through which a receiving country’s president accredits an ambassador or high commissioner nominated by another government.