By Enitan Abdultawab
A Nigerian returnee from South Africa, Jamyou Sanni, has recounted how he narrowly escaped death after he was allegedly ambushed by a group of South African men outside a bar during his stay in the country.
Sanni shared the experience while speaking on Vanguard’s The Nigerian Metre Podcast, where he reflected on the xenophobic attacks and misconceptions Nigerians face in South Africa.
According to him, the attack happened after a woman approached him while he was relaxing at a bar, an encounter that appeared to provoke some South African men.
“I have been attacked in every situation possible. I was in a bar one day when a lady came close to me. You know, just a situation where a lady would come close to you because she sees that you are chilling,” he said.
“Unknown to me, the South African guys waited for me outside. When I stepped out, they approached me and smashed me to the floor.”
Sanni said he might not have survived the attack if not for the intervention of a white South African police officer.
‘South Africans almost killed me because they saw me chilling with a lady in a bar — Returnee’
— Vanguard Newspapers (@vanguardngrnews) July 22, 2026
Nigerian shares his near-death experience in a xenophobic attack.
Watch the full episode on Thursday on our YouTube channel.#xenophobia #southafrican pic.twitter.com/nXQWaV8KBV
“It was another South African, a white man who is a police officer, that shot from his apartment upstairs, and that made them disperse. They could have killed me that day,” he added.
Despite his experience, Sanni stressed that not every South African is hostile towards Nigerians, saying many residents treated him well during his years in the country.
“Not all South Africans are aggressive or hostile,” he said.
He also dismissed the common claims that Nigerians take jobs or women from South Africans.
“It’s not true that we take their jobs or women. Throughout my stay, I was never employed. I rather employed people,” Sanni said.
Speaking on relationships, he argued that many South African women are attracted to Nigerian men because of how they are treated.
“As for the women part, more South African women want to get Nigerian men because Nigerian men take care of them more than South African men,” he said.
On allegations that foreigners deprive locals of employment opportunities, Sanni maintained that jobs are available for those willing to work.
“As for the job, they just do not want to work. If they want to work, they can get a job. It is sad that what they do now is what they think is a job — chasing foreigners away,” he added.
He further claimed that women generally occupy a stronger social position than men in South Africa, describing them as “superior than men” within the society.
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