Washington, DC – The images coming out of South Africa are hard to ignore: Black immigrants, many of them Nigerian, being harassed, displaced and, in some cases, violently expelled from their communities. These scenes demand condemnation. But they also demand something more difficult and far more consequential: leadership, and in particular, regional responsibility.
At the same time Nigerian micro-entrepreneurs are being targeted and driven out of local economies, another story is emerging. Speaking at an investment forum recently, Aliko Dangote indicated that his company is ready to replicate the scale of its Lagos-based refinery across the continent if governments provide the right conditions. “I can give a commitment to the presidents here today that if they support the refinery, we will build a refinery like the one we have in Nigeria, a 650,000 barrel per day refinery,” he said. That level of industrial ambition is rare anywhere in the world, let alone in Africa.
Nigeria has an opportunity to position itself as the hub of African enterprise, talent and innovation.
This paradox is instructive. It highlights a country that is operating at two powerful ends of the economic spectrum: informal, community-based enterprises and world-class industrial investment. This combination points to a crucial truth: Nigeria's greatest and least leveraged superpower is its entrepreneurial spirit. This crisis should make the country aware of that reality.
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The rhetoric that often creates xenophobic tensions is, “foreigners are taking our jobs”. This tension reflects something more specific: competition within the ecosystem of community wealth creation. Nigerian immigrants have built a reputation across the continent as traders, service providers and small business owners as highly adaptive micro-entrepreneurs who quickly create value and establish themselves in local markets. Instead of seeing this only as external hostility, Nigeria must also look within. Why do so many of its entrepreneurs seek opportunities abroad? What regulatory, financial or structural barriers make it easier to set up business outside Nigeria?
Globally, small and medium-sized enterprises account for approximately 90 percent of businesses and more than half of employment. In Nigeria, the sector is even more central, yet often hampered by inconsistent regulation, limited access to capital and infrastructure. If Nigerian entrepreneurs can thrive across borders, the issue is not one of capacity. This is the environment.
After all, it's a terrible thing to waste a crisis.
Nigeria should launch a targeted rehabilitation and reintegration program for its citizens affected by xenophobic violence. Returning home should not mean starting over with uncertainty. This should mean relocation support, transitional accommodation and a move into structured opportunity through pathways to employment or enterprise. More importantly, it means recognizing returnees as economic assets, bringing skills, networks and resilience that can be reinvested in the local economy.
Second, Nigeria should take a hard look at its small business strategy and realign it for global competitiveness. Micro, small and medium enterprises must not just survive, they must be ready to export. This requires modernizing the regulatory framework, expanding access to financing, and reducing friction for business creation and growth. If Nigerian entrepreneurs can expand across Africa informally, they should be able to expand formally from within Nigeria as well.
Nigeria's 4D foreign policy strategy should also more deliberately integrate its diaspora. The next generation migration framework should include African-focused trade missions, government-supported partnerships and structured pathways for cross-border enterprise. At a time when intra-African trade is growing rapidly, this moment presents an opportunity to move towards a more outward-looking model of development.
Finally, Nigeria must move beyond reactive diplomacy and develop a comprehensive immigration strategy that attracts talent to the country. The world's most competitive economies do not oppose migration; They design systems to use it. In the United States, employment-based visas such as the H-1B and EB 1-5 categories are deliberately used to attract skilled talent and investment.
The United Kingdom has taken a similar approach with its Global Talent Visa. These models underscore a broader point: The countries that win economically are those that compete for people, not push them away. Nigeria can do this by creating clear residency pathways, investor-friendly migration policies and incentives for skilled and entrepreneurial Africans within its borders.
For years, South Africa has served as a primary destination for African immigrants. But this moment of instability creates an opportunity for new leadership. Nigeria now has an opportunity to position itself as the hub of African enterprise, talent and innovation.
Gbenga is the Executive Director of Ogunjimi nigerian centerA Washington, DC-based civic organization advancing immigrant justice, economic inclusion, and cultural engagement. He is a Fellow of the U.S. State Department's Global Leaders – African Descent Social Entrepreneurship Program and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the District of Columbia.