xenophobia
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Rufaro Samanga
Sep. 10, 2019 08:32AM EST

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The Nigerian Government is Evacuating its Citizens from South Africa

President Buhari has arranged free flights for Nigerians wanting to return home.

Amid the violent xenophobic attacks and looting of shops owned by African foreign nationals in South Africa over the past week, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has called for the "immediate voluntary evacuation" of Nigerian citizens. IOL reports that President Buhari called for the evacuation yesterday and that private Nigerian airline, Air Peace, has offered to provide free flights to Nigerians who would like to return home. The airline will be operating two Boeing 777 aircraft and will leave Lagos later today with the intention of returning back to Nigeria with evacuees tomorrow.

Read: Sho Madjozi Accuses Organizers of 'Africans Unite' of Using Xenophobia as a 'Marketing Ploy'

In the wake of South Africa's latest xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg, the Nigerian government sent a special envoy last week to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa and talk about Nigeria's growing concerns over the treatment of Nigerian citizens residing in South Africa. According to the BBC, the Nigerian government stressed that the South African government needed to "take visible measures t stop violence against citizens of brotherly nations." While President Ramaphosa has condemned the xenophobic violence and called for calm, it has done little to quell the recurrent attacks in what has now become an international diplomatic crisis.

The head of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri, said that at least 600 Nigerians have signed up to return home. Dabiri added that Nigerians who are directly affected by the xenophobic attacks and are currently in harm's way will be able to return home. She also called for the South African government to compensate those who have been victims of the violence.

Back in Nigeria, the South African embassy as well as businesses including MTN, Pep, MutiChoice and Shoprite, temporarily closed shop amid attacks by angry Nigerian citizens who were responding to the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

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Influential Louis Vuitton And Off-White Designer Virgin Abloh, Dies at 41

The popular Ghanian-American designer had been battling a rare form of cancer in private for several years.

The fashion industry has lost a talented, unique, and boundary-pushing influence this weekend.

41-year-old Ghanianian-American designer Virgil Abloh has died after a 2 year battle with a rare form of cancer, a statement from his associates LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said on Sunday. Abloh, founder of luxury streetwear brand Off-White, and artistic director of men's wear at French fashion house Louis Vuitton leaves his wife Shannon, and 2 children - Lowe and Grey. Chairman and CEO of LVMH Bernard Arnault said in a statement, "We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom." "The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother, or their friend," he added.

After the news broke on Sunday, Abloh started trending on Twitter, with fans of the designer remembering his influence on music, art, and fashion. The 1990s saw Abloh DJ and the creative director once told The Guardian in a 2016 interview, "When the phone is off, I play my favorite songs really loud for myself, and I'm not talking to anyone. I'm not managing anything. It's just like a time when I can listen to music… I'll be DJing after I'm done designing or doing anything else." Virgil got his hands into designing album artworks after strumming up a friendship with American rapper Kanye West before becoming the creative director of West's DONDA Creative House. More recently known for his creative streetwear brand 'Off-White' the designer became popular among fashion-conscious youngsters and will forever be immortalized.

A statement posted to Abloh's Instagram explained that "Virgil chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture"

Friends, fans, and colleagues took to social media to share their well-wishes for Virgil as he transitions to his next destination.



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