According to a report by TheCable on Wednesday, 1 July, 2026, repatriated Nigerian, Ilugbadebo Oyebola, has shared a harrowing account of the discrimination she said she suffered while living in South Africa, alleging that she was subjected to degrading treatment in a hospital shortly after giving birth because she was a foreigner.
Speaking during an interview, Oyebola reflected on her experiences amid discussions about the challenges many Nigerians face in South Africa, where incidents of xenophobia have repeatedly strained relations between locals and foreign nationals.
Describing one of the most painful moments of her stay, Oyebola alleged that hospital staff forced her to clean the floor immediately after childbirth because she was bleeding. According to her, the incident began after a nurse realised she could not understand the local language.
“On the day that I gave birth. I was asked to clean the hospital floor because I was bleeding immediately I gave birth. One of the nurses came there and she was talking to me in one of their languages. The moment she noticed that I couldn’t respond. That tells her that I’m a foreigner. So she started telling me to clean the floor,” she said.
Oyebola’s account adds to concerns raised over the treatment of some African migrants in South Africa, where periodic outbreaks of xenophobic violence and discrimination have affected foreign nationals, including Nigerians.
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