Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has condemned the recent wave of xenophobic attacks against African migrants in South Africa, describing the incidents as a threat to the spirit of unity and brotherhood on the continent.

Speaking at a public event, Diri expressed concern over the growing hostility towards foreign nationals in parts of South Africa, stressing that such actions undermine the ideals of Pan-Africanism and regional cooperation that African leaders have worked hard to promote.

The governor urged African countries to strengthen their commitment to solidarity, noting that challenges facing one nation should be met with collective support rather than division. He emphasized that mutual respect and cooperation remain essential for the continent’s progress.

Diri’s remarks come amid renewed concerns over attacks targeting migrants in South Africa. Recent reports indicate that several foreign nationals have been displaced by anti-immigrant violence, while Mozambique confirmed the deaths of some of its citizens during the unrest.

The incidents have drawn reactions from governments, human rights groups, and regional organizations, with growing calls for stronger measures to protect migrants and prevent further violence.

As tensions continue to attract international attention, Diri called on African leaders and citizens alike to promote peaceful coexistence and preserve the bonds that unite nations across the continent.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State Wing, has directed all public primary and secondary school teachers in the state to embark on an indefinite strike beginning Monday, June 1, 2026, over the continued captivity of abducted teachers and pupils in Oriire Local Government Area.
The directive follows growing concerns about the safety and security of teachers and students after 46 pupils and their teachers were reportedly abducted by suspected terrorists in the Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota communities.
In a statement jointly signed by the Chairman of the Oyo State NUT, Hassan Fatai, and the Secretary, Salami Olukayode, the union said the prolonged detention of the victims has generated fear and anxiety among teachers, discouraged school attendance, and heightened tension within affected communities.
According to the union, the strike action is aimed at drawing the attention of government authorities and security agencies to the urgent need to intensify efforts toward the safe and unconditional release of the abducted teachers and pupils.
The NUT directed all teachers in public primary and secondary schools across Oyo State to fully comply with the industrial action and remain at home pending further directives from the union.

There is a confidence in the air around Nigeria’s economic diplomacy right now, and Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dele Alake has given it one of its clearest expressions yet. In a declaration that carries both symbolic and strategic weight, Alake has stated unequivocally that Nigeria is ready for business with Türkiye — an assertion delivered not as diplomatic pleasantry but as a direct investment pitch to one of the world’s most aggressively expanding emerging market economies. The statement marks another deliberate step in Nigeria’s ongoing effort to diversify its international economic partnerships beyond traditional Western allies and pivot toward relationships that carry mutual industrial ambition.

The timing of Alake’s declaration is not accidental. Türkiye, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has spent the better part of the last decade positioning itself as a bridge economy — a nation with the manufacturing capacity, infrastructure expertise, construction capability, and geopolitical dexterity to operate simultaneously across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. For Nigeria, a country sitting atop vast untapped mineral wealth and facing the urgent need for industrial investment, technical partnerships, and value-chain development across its extractive sectors, Türkiye represents exactly the kind of partner whose interests and capabilities align with what Lagos, Abuja, and the broader Nigerian economy currently need.

Alake’s portfolio is central to this conversation. Nigeria’s solid minerals sector — home to deposits of lithium, gold, iron ore, coal, bitumen, and dozens of other commercially valuable resources — has for decades been chronically underexploited, leaving enormous economic potential buried in the ground while the country remained disproportionately dependent on crude oil revenues. The Tinubu administration has made diversification away from oil one of its loudest economic commitments, and solid minerals have been identified as a primary frontier for that diversification. Turkish companies, many of which have deep experience in mining, construction materials, and industrial processing, are among the potential partners that could help Nigeria unlock that frontier at scale and speed.

Beyond solid minerals, the Nigeria-Türkiye relationship has room to grow across trade, manufacturing, agriculture, and defence — sectors in which Turkish firms have already established significant footprints across other parts of Africa. Countries like Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan have deepened their ties with Ankara in ways that have yielded tangible infrastructure and capacity outcomes, and Nigerian policymakers are clearly keen to ensure that West Africa’s largest economy is not left behind in what is shaping up to be a meaningful continental realignment of partnerships.

Alake’s message to Türkiye is ultimately a message to the world: that Nigeria is not waiting to be discovered, but actively knocking on doors, making the case for investment, and signalling to serious business partners that the continent’s most populous nation is open, willing, and prepared. Whether Turkish capital and expertise follow that invitation into the solid minerals sector and beyond will be one of the more interesting bilateral stories to watch in the months ahead.