Speaking at the African Energy Week 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa, lawyer NJ Ayuk, executive chairman of the African Energy Chamber, strongly condemned xenophobia and hostility towards African nationals.
“We cannot preach pan-African and global unity in these air-conditioned rooms while allowing division to take root in our streets,” he said, denouncing the gap between integration speeches and exclusionary behaviors.
“When foreigners and our African brothers face hostility, it is a stain on our collective conscience,” continued NJ Ayuk. On behalf of the Chamber, he firmly and unequivocally condemned xenophobia in all its hideous forms, adding: “There is no middle ground.”
The lawyer also expressed his support for Cyril Ramaphosa’s stance against xenophobia and afrophobia, recalling the South African president’s statement that “there is no place for intolerance in South Africa.”
For NJ Ayuk, the energy industry illustrates this necessary cooperation: “Pipelines do not care about borders. Electricity networks do not stop at passport control.” The sector relies on engineers, operators, and financiers from different nationalities working side by side.
In the same vein, the executive chairman of the African Energy Chamber warned against resource nationalism, a trend he deems dangerous and calls for active vigilance against.
