The relationship between South Africa and Nigeria dates back to 1960s during the Apartheid era. Nigeria played an instrumental role in ending apartheid and upon the collapse of the apartheid regime, migrants from Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria swamped into the country as a result of investment opportunities. However, the current challenges facing South Africa such as unemployment, poor border control, lack of education caused deep resentment amongst the locals and resulted in xenophobic attitudes and violence. This paper thus, is informed by the rise in the attacks on Nigerians in South Africa and takes a critical analysis of the impact of xenophobia on Nigeria students in South Africa. In achieving this, data was collated using a 12 item questionnaire titled “Impact of Xenophobia on Nigerian students in South Africa” across 30 randomly selected Nigerian students using sampling technique rated on a 4point likert scale. The findings of this study indicates that Nigerian students face discrimination from fellow students, locals and immigration and government officials while the rise of xenophobic sentiments has impacted the economy and investment opportunities of South Africa. Awareness campaigns by stakeholders, policies that boost employment and the economy as well as partnership by both governments were recommended by the study.
Keywords: Education, Impact, xenophobia
