“There are only 50,000 Nigerians living in India, but there are over a million Indians living in Nigeria. Thousands of Indians living there will be thrown out on the streets if the forcible eviction of Nigerians in Goa does not stop.”
— Jacob Nwadibia, administrative attaché of the Nigerian High Commission in New Delhi in 2013
The ominous words from a Nigerian diplomat in the aftermath of a diplomatic row over the killing of their national in Goa in 2013 are not a red herring if the recurrence of violent incidents against African nationals in India is not prevented. Diplomats and watchers of India-Africa ties believe incidents such as the attack on four Nigerian students in Greater Noida on March 27 this year can adversely impact the interests of India and Indians in the continent. The four were attacked after a 16-year-old boy died allegedly of drug overdose administered by Nigerians in the area.
India has desisted from qualifying the recent attacks as racially-motivated and termed them criminal acts by “uniformed and misguided” people. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Gopal Baglay invoked the Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam to drive home the point that African students are welcome in India.
But more than love for humanity, it is India’s national interests and interests of its diaspora across the African continent at stake. The Indian diaspora worldwide is estimated to be 25 million, and as per the United Nations Development Program, it is second to only China. Out of this “overseas” community, Africa accounts for about 2.8 million people spread across 46 countries.
The majority of diaspora have taken up citizenship of the country of their residence and have risen to important positions, and are pivotal in furthering India-Africa ties. In Uganda, the Indian Diaspora is less than one per cent of the population, but pays 50 per cent of the country’s income tax.
Mauritius, South Africa and Reunion Island have Indian communities in dominant positions with a strong political presence. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe fall in the category of countries with a sizeable Indian community.
According to 2016 MEA figures, there are 35,000 Indians in Nigeria. Of these, 25,000 are Indian nationals and 10,000 are foreign passport holders. Indians have greater rights in Nigeria as it runs a CBSE-affiliated Indian language school in Lagos with over 2,000 students. It also has two temples in Lagos. In the MEA’s words, Indians there “enjoy a largely non-controversial existence”. It was reciprocity that the Nigerians have been demanding in India.
In 2013, India had realised that discrimination against Nigerians and other African nationals can have reverberations for the Indian community in African countries. Ties between India and Nigeria hit a nadir after the murder of a Nigerian in Goa in 2013. The killing led to demonstrations from Nigerians in the state and it snowballed into a row between Indian politicians and Nigerian envoys in India. Signboards reading “Say no to Nigerians, say no to drugs” appeared across the coastal state. The incident evoked a strong reaction from Nigeria, which threatened to have a quid pro quo reaction against the Indian community there.
Sudan and Nigeria rank fourth and fifth among the top 10 countries from where students come to study in India. About 42,420 foreign students were studying in India in 2015, of which 1,990 were Nigerians and 2,047 Sudanese. In 2013, nearly 37,000 Nigerians took Indian visas for medical tourism and business.
About the recent attack in Greater Noida, former Indian ambassador to Nigeria, Anil Trigunayat, said: “This is likely to happen if there is a repeated occurrence of such incidents. The reaction might not necessarily be organised, but emotional. Some unsocial elements can also exploit the situation by attacking Indians in Nigeria.” He added that Nigerians like India, but repeated occurrence of incidents such as in Greater Noida “can dent India’s image”. Another Indian diplomat said that no retaliation has been reported against Indians in Nigeria, but conceded that a possibility is there.
Following the attack, African students there have been advised against venturing out of their houses. “Our parents are very scared. They are asking me to come back to Nigeria and relocate to some other country for studies,” said Najib Hamisu Umar, Nigerian Students Coordinator, who is doing his PhD in electrical engineering from Noida International University.
Indians enjoy a good life in Nigeria, which has made them the target of crime syndicates, especially kidnapping and armed robberies. On July 25, 2012, two Indians were killed and one wounded in an attack by an armed group on Indian-owned Gum Arabic factory in Maiduguri, Borno State.
“We don’t want a situation that can lead to inter-country problems. But we want security for African students. Nigeria is a friendly country. We welcome Indians. They live comfortably. They enjoy lot of benefits. Our government gives them security. It is baffling to see Indians treating us like this,” said Sam Bukola, a student of IEC College of Engineering and Technology in Greater Noida.
Former diplomat K P Fabian echoed the sentiments. “It (attacks on African students) shows that some elements in our society are violent. India has taken necessary action to avoid retaliation at the state level, but at people’s level there can be some reaction,” he said.
India has been providing capacity-building assistance to many African countries, including Nigeria, by giving scholarship to students. The scholarships form an important part of Indian foreign policy in the continent. “We cannot compete with China in terms of cash, but we have built up a lot of goodwill through capacity-building assistance. We have increased our influence through soft power. But when Nigerian students come here and have bad experiences, it creates bad blood between the two countries’ people,” Trigunayat added.
India’s trade with Africa has seen a jump in recent times from $25 billion in 2006 to $70 billion. This is far behind China-Africa trade that is valued at $222 billion in 2014. Keeping this in mind, India played to its strength. The 2015 India-Africa Summit in New Delhi saw a representation of over 40 countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced 50,000 scholarships for African students in India for five years. In 2011 the Manmohan Singh government had provided scholarships to over 27,000 Nigerians from 2012-2015.
Nigerian students in India reacted strongly after the Greater Noida incident. “It is obvious that India is not a suitable place for foreigners, especially the black race. India is not our home no matter how much you love to stay there. The people are complicated. They don’t respect the law. They don’t respect foreigners,” said Salisu Dahiru Idris, a student of Greater Noida’s Lovely Professional University, in a Facebook post.
African students in Greater Noida are under virtual house arrest and are scared to even let journalists in for interviews. They have taken to social media to vent their anger. In its advisory following the attacks, Association of African Students in India had asked the African Union to suspend its bilateral trade ties with India.
A senior African diplomat in Delhi said his nine-year-old son studies in a reputed school in Delhi. He sits alone in class because no Indian child is willing to sit next to him because he looks “weird”. The class teacher and school authorities were embarrassed when the parents complained, but the behaviour of his peers is shocking.
Indian diplomats in African countries talk about the zero social interaction of Indians with the natives. “No Indian man goes on a date with an African woman. Relationships between Indian women and African men is totally unacceptable. Africans notice this and rightfully resent it,” an Indian diplomat said.
India cannot afford to take its ties with African countries lightly. In the 60s, Uganda expelled 55,000 of its citizens of Asian origin, including 30,000 of Indian origin, on grounds of sabotaging the country’s economy, and rendered them stateless. If repercussions of the Greater Noida attack are felt in African countries, about 8 per cent of the Indian diaspora could be at the receiving end.