South Africa releases Fani-Kayode’s speech after protest

Detailed summary

The South African Presidency has released the full video of Ambassador Femi Fani-Kayode’s speech after he protested its exclusion from a livestream. Read More:…

The South African Presidency has released the full video of the presentation of letters of credence ceremony involving Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, hours after he accused the government of excluding his speech from the event’s livestream.

PUNCH Online observed that the full recording was uploaded to the South African Presidency’s YouTube page at about 4:23 pm on Friday, approximately two hours after Fani-Kayode publicly protested the omission.

The ambassador had earlier alleged that the South African Presidency deliberately cut out his introduction and speech during the livestream of the ceremony hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria.

He said the introductions and speeches of ambassadors from 14 other countries were broadcast, while Nigeria’s was omitted, with the livestream resuming only after he had finished speaking.

However, the newly released footage included his full address, during which he pledged to work towards strengthening diplomatic and economic relations between Nigeria and South Africa.

Addressing Ramaphosa, Fani-Kayode said his assignment was partly to rebuild bridges between the two countries, which he described as having a long history of friendship and cooperation.

“Nothing can come between the two of us. And part of my job here is to reset that relationship, to come and build that bridge, and to ensure that whatever concerns we have mutually, we can work them out and move forward together,” he said.

He recalled Nigeria’s support for South Africa during its struggle against apartheid, saying both countries had maintained a longstanding relationship.

“We fought together. We stood by you. We gave our blood and our treasure for you during your dark days. And you have reciprocated in so many ways,” he said.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Punch. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.