Abdul Samad Rabiu said on Thursday that South Africa denied him entry after his visa expired a day before his trip, even though he said European travellers were allowed in without visas. Rabiu, the founder and chairman of BUA Group, made the remarks while speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.
His account drew a blunt reaction on Friday from Shehu Sani, who said in a post on X that the action of the South African government “is an affront to Nigeria.” Sani said South Africa cannot have billions of dollars in investment in Nigeria and treat such a revered figure with rejection and contempt, adding that “Xenophobia is escalating from the streets to governance.”
The episode taps into a wider complaint about how Rabiu says he was treated compared with European travellers, turning what began as a travel dispute into a public argument about fairness and respect between two of Africa’s biggest economies. Sani framed it as more than a one-off slight, saying it was time to keep aside history and African brotherhood and deal with the matter squarely.
The immediate question now is not whether the complaint will echo online, but whether anyone in South Africa responds to the allegation and explains why a prominent Nigerian business leader says he was turned away when others were not.
