DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS: INTER-ETHNIC VIOLENCE, SAFETY AND SECURITY OF NIGERIAN FOREIGN NATIONALS IN DURBAN. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of Nigerian expatriates on inter-ethnic violence, safety and security on Point Road in the Durban area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Introduction
Thus, the current study aims to contribute to the existing body of research by exploring inter-ethnic nuances among Nigerian foreign nationals living in Point Road in Durban and how it provides a catalyst for violent confrontations, subsequently undermining their rights to a safe and secure climate. . These conflicts have grown both internally (in Nigeria) and externally (in the diaspora) to claim most of the violent inter-ethnic diasporic confrontations between Nigerians at Point Road, Durban.
The rationale of the study
Through inter-ethnic violence among Nigerians, the study notes that the colonial division of Nigeria along the lines of ethnicity and economic resources laid the foundation for inter-ethnic conflict and violence. Based on anecdotal evidence and the existence of a formal union to grant gatekeepers permission, this study anticipates its merits.
Problem Statement
The Nigerian Embassy and its Consulate to resolve and regulate issues of immigration, deaths and general interest of Nigerians were brought before her attention.
Aim and Objectives
In addressing the objectives, it is important to look at Nigeria's post-independence and how ethnic divisions and political divisions initiated ethnic inequalities that provide spaces for a series of conflicts and violent confrontations.
Post-independence Nigeria: Ethnic nationalities, violent conflicts, and political history Nigeria as we have it today has an estimated area of 356,669 square miles, it is approximately
On the other hand, the Yorubans have benefited from western education and have dominated the Nigerian education system. The Igbos on the other hand took advantage of economic opportunities by establishing businesses and maintaining a competitive interest in the country's economic affairs.
Research Questions
Northerners assumed political positions and have since occupied a central place in Nigerian politics. Thus, the transnational relationship of Nigerians in the diaspora is largely based on interconnected internal divisions.
Clarification of key concepts
Immigration/Immigrant
According to the White Paper on International Migration, immigrants are defined by the transient nature of their stay in the country (1999:52). For this study, immigrants and migrants will be used interchangeably to include non-citizens living on Point Road in the Durban area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, including refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and immigrants.
Migration/migrant
Foreign nationals
In this study, the use of foreigners is a descriptive term referring to “all nationals of a state or country residing temporarily or permanently in South Africa under different immigration rules (with or without a permit)” (CSRV, 2019). Three broad categories used in South African law to categorize "foreigners" are refugee, migrant and immigrant.
Conclusion
Foreign nationals are often referred to as 'international migrants'. According to CSRV (2019), voluntary migrants typically take the form of migrant workers as opposed to those escaping persecution or natural disasters. The concept "foreigner" represents non-citizen and functions under various categories such as refugees, asylum seekers, aliens, immigrants, migrants, foreigners and aliens are all held under the umbrella label "foreigners", regardless of the motives for leaving their country of origin.
Structure of the dissertation
What follows is an overview of the migrant crisis and xenophobic violence in South Africa and then the conclusion. The marriage of the two theories is to help address some of the study's objectives.
Introduction
However, none of the studies looked at inter-ethnic nuances among Nigerians and how this provided a catalyst for violent confrontations on Point Road, Durban, South Africa. This study therefore proposes to add to research on inter-ethnic violence through a qualitative approach of inquiry.
Towards understanding violence: A Global perspective
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), violence kills more than 1.6 million people worldwide each year. According to psychologists such as Banks (2009) and Brooks (2009), this type of violence can have more catastrophic consequences than personal violence.
Violence and violent crimes in South Africa
Statistics show that crime and criminal violence in South Africa has worsened, making it one of the most unsafe countries in the world. According to Altbeker (2007), South Africa has had one of the highest rates of murder and armed robbery in the world since the late 1990s.
Migrant crisis and Xenophobic violence in South Africa
Participants in the South African Stress and Health (SASH) research who lived in cities were more likely than those who lived in less urbanized areas to have experienced a violent crime (Masuku, 2006). People from ethnic minority groups are more vulnerable to criminal violence, according to research in the US.
South Africa and Anti-Immigrant Attitudes
The report says the victim did not bother to report the incident to the police because he believes "the police will not investigate and do not want to be disappointed". In the same study, another participant described his sense of survival: “The loss of this amount is not the first I have seen in my life.
Migrant Entrepreneurship in South African Cities
Crush and Chikanda (2015) noted recent press reports that police coordinated the orderly looting of migrant-owned businesses in Soweto (City Press, 2025). According to Crush and Chikanda (2015), a recurring theme throughout the volume is the extent to which migrant entrepreneurs experience violence and live in constant fear.
Immigration, social Exclusion and Victimisation
Zhong et al., (2017) reported that some disadvantaged immigrants in the United States have very limited access to decent employment, adequate social support networks, and safe communities. Against this background, a recent study by (Sulkowski et al., 2014) found that immigrant youth in the United States were more likely to be victims of physical aggression due to the widespread anti-immigrant sentiment among their local peers.
Foreign Nationals and the concept of Human and Economic security and safety in South Africa
Kynoch (2005) reports the existence of several case studies of foreign nationals showing that a university degree obtained in the country of origin does not guarantee a skilled post-migration position for migrants. Foreigners' cultural capital originates in their home country and is subsequently transformed by their experience of migration.
Introduction
Research Design
Subjective factors such as opinion, attitude, personality, emotion, motivation, interest, personal problems, mood, drive and frustration are relatively more complex and therefore more difficult to capture quantitatively than empirically verifiable variables. When choosing a qualitative approach according to the objectives of this research, the researcher took into account the point of view that qualitative approaches are usually used to investigate new phenomena and to capture individual thoughts, feelings or interpretations of meaning and process.
Project Primary Site
Selection of Participants
Research Method
Semi-structured Interview
Interview Process
Method of Data Analysis
Trustworthiness
Lincoln and Guba (1985) explain reliability to include evaluating the study's findings, interpretations, and recommendations to ensure that they are all supported by participant-generated data. Transferability, according to Lincoln and Guba, is not just about whether the study has a representative sample; it is also about how well the study has enabled the reader to determine whether similar processes will operate in their own settings and communities by understanding how they occur at the research site.
Ethical consideration
To ensure that biases are eliminated in this study, participants in this research will be involved at the first level of analysis. Involving them will help me retell their stories to ensure my biases as a researcher are eliminated.
Summary of chapter
In order for the current study to contribute to the existing body of research through the exploration of inter-ethnic nuances among Nigerian foreign nationals living on Point Road in Durban, this study will draw on two theories, Pierre Boudoir's Theory of Practice (1977) and Robert Merton's Theory of Tribe. (1938). Second, Merton's tribal theory is used to explore and examine factors that threaten the safety and security of Nigerian foreign nationals in Durban.
Pierre Boudoir’s Theory of Practice
The many effects that foreign nationals produce over time on Point Road become habitus in force. Furthermore, the theoretical positions are relevant as a lens for understanding the experiences of violence among Nigerian foreign nationals in South Africa, particularly Point Road.
Robert Merton’s Strain theory
The result is that African foreigners are mostly blamed and attacked because they seem to be easy targets. The marriage of Pierre Bourdieu's Theory of Practice and Merton's Strain Theory reinforces and re-emphasizes the context of inter-ethnic nuance among Nigerian expatriates and how it provides a cortex for safety and security intervention and protection.
Conclusion
According to research conducted mostly in the United States and a few other Western countries, certain strains increase the risk of delinquency, with parental rejection and victimization among the most common causes of crime (Agnew, 2006). The above parts of the tension theory clearly explain why some locals use violence against foreign African citizens when they want the government to pay attention to their suffering, which is exacerbated by the country's high unemployment rate.
Introduction
Demographic and narrative profile of participants
- Participant 1
- Participant 2
- Participant 3
- Participant 4
- Participant 5
- Participant 6
- Participant 7
- Participant 8
- Participant 9
- Participant 10
He was invited to South Africa in 2009 by his older brother, who had traveled many years before him. His older brother had traveled to South Africa earlier and invited him for better opportunities.
Themes and Discussions
- Inter-ethnic nuances of Nigerian foreign nationals living in Durban
- Envy and Igbo Nigerian foreign nationals
- Jealousy
- Greed and violence
This demonstrates the extent to which Igbo Nigerian foreign nationals go to inflict acts of violence due to (a) envy (b) greed and (c) jealousy as discussed in the previous pages of the analysis. From the participants' responses, the data reveal some of the transnational characteristics that characterize the diasporic relationship between Igbo Nigerian foreign nationals living in Durban.
Factors that threaten the safety and security of Igbo Nigerian Foreign Nationals in Durban
Data shows that most of the Nigerian foreign nationals living in Durban are frequently involved in altercations with local officials. Most of the participants argued that there are injustices and corruption towards Nigerian foreign nationals in South Africa.
Introduction
Summary of the study
This chapter discussed the review of related literature on violence as a phenomenon from a global, national and local perspective.
Conclusions drawn from findings
On their way to the host country and community, Nigerian Igbo expatriates face a host of security challenges, of which death and physical injury, as well as loss of property during the migration journey, have been recorded. However, the study found that, Nigerian Igbo foreign nationals also provide an enabling environment that fosters their economic and social insecurity due to character traits, envy, greed, jealousy and violence.
Recommendations
The security challenges of Nigerian foreign nationals do not begin within the host communities, but have a transnational history that begins before the individual makes the decision to leave the community or country of origin. Nevertheless, although Igbo-Nigerian foreign nationals face security challenges throughout their journey to host communities, it is unfortunate that their safety and security are no guarantee within the host communities upon arrival and within their communal spaces.
Chapter summary
Lost in the Vortex: Irregularities in the Detention and Deportation of Non-citizens in South Africa. Make no doubt there is fear in the land': an exploration of ongoing cycles of violence in South Africa.
