‘I was made to clean my blood when I gave birth at a hospital because I’m a foreigner’- Nigerian woman speaks of the illtreatment she suffered in South Africa

A repatriated Nigerian woman from South Africa, Ilugbadebo Oyebola, has recounted the ill-treatment she suffered as a foreigner when she visited a South African hospital to give birth to her child.

Oyebode was among the 271 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa on Tuesday, June 30, following anti-immigrant protests.

Speaking to the Cable upon her arrival in Nigeria, Oyebode said she would describe the 11 years she lived in the country as traumatizing. She said she left Nigeria with her son to join her husband in South Africa in 2015 and that for the 11 years she was there, she couldn’t secure a stable job because she had no work permit.

‘’There was hatred. No healthcare for foreigners. I can say that. I gave birth to two of my daughters in South Africa and my son here in Nigeria before moving to join my husband in 2015. 

When I gave birth to my first daughter, I felt so bad because on the day that I gave birth, I was asked to clean the hospital floor because I started bleeding. 

One of the nurses came there. She started speaking to me in their language. The moment she knew I couldn’t respond, she knew I was a foreigner and so she started telling me to clean the floor. You can imagine the trauma.”

Watch a video of her speaking below