Anti-Nigerian sentiment

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, Nigerians and other foreign nationals began migrating to South Africa in large numbers. This has led to xenophobic sentiments among Black South Africans due to scarce economic opportunities. Nigerians are among the common targets of xenophobia in South Africa.^[6] The portrayal of Nigerians as illegal drug dealers has often been used to justify xenophobic violence towards Nigerians in South Africa.^[7] On 18 October 2007, South African musician Lucky Dube was shot dead because his assailants allegedly mistook him for a Nigerian.^[8]

The 2009 South African science fiction film District 9 faced controversy for its alleged negative portrayal of Nigerians. Nigeria's Information Minister Dora Akunyili asked movie cinemas around Nigeria to either ban the film or edit out specific references to the country because of the film's negative depiction of the Nigerian characters as criminals and cannibals. Letters of complaint were sent to the producer and distributor of the film demanding an apology. She also said the gang leader Obesandjo is almost identical in spelling and pronunciation to the surname of former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.^[9] The film was later banned in Nigeria; the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board was asked to prevent cinemas from showing the film and also to confiscate it.^[10] Hakeem Kae-Kazim, a Nigerian-born British actor, also criticised the portrayal of Nigerians in the film.

During the 2019 Johannesburg riots, shops owned by Nigerians and other foreign nationals were attacked and looted^[11] following the death of a taxi driver.^[12] By 3 September, police had made 189 arrests for looting.^[13] Around 50 businesses predominantly owned by Nigerians were reportedly destroyed or damaged during the incident.^[14] The riots coincided with a nationwide truck driver strike protesting against the employment of non-South African truckers.^[15] After riots resulted in 12 deaths in the first week of September, 640 of an estimated 100,000 Nigerians in South Africa signed up to take free flights offered by Nigeria to return to their home country.^[16][17]

During the Nigerian Civil War, Biafran officials collaborated with American politicians and public relations firms to spread anti-Nigerian sentiments among Americans.^[18] The American Committee to Keep Biafra Alive widely propagated negative images of Nigeria and made disputed assertions that Nigeria was committing a mass genocide in Biafra.^[19]