Jean-Jacques Cornish

Nigeria rows back on row with South Africa

Nigeria’s rowing back from the tough demonstration protesting xenophobic violence in South Africa.
Foreign Minister Aminu Wali says there are satisfactory indications South Africans have taken firm measures to stem the tide of attacks.
end
Before leaving Pretoria, Nigeria’s acting High Commissioner Martin Cobham told South African officials his recall and that of Nigeria’s Consul General in Johannesburg reflects Abuja’s outrage at the wave of anti-immigrant attacks.
Now Foreign Minister Aminu Wali is saying there is nothing out of
the ordinary.
He says the media’s wrong using the word recall and insists summoning the envoys is a usual practice in the conduct of diplomacy.
Wali says both his representatives will return to their duty posts.
South Africa responded with unprecedented anger to the the Nigerian action pointing out that it did not recall its ambassador when Abuja authorities took nine months to repatriate the bodies of 84 South Africans killed in a church collapse near Lagos.

Enquire about availability for radio, podcasts, reporting or opinion pieces.

Jean-Jacques Cornish is a journalist and broadcaster who has been involved in the media all his adult life.

Starting as a reporter on his hometown newspaper, he moved briefly to then Rhodesia before returning to South Africa to become a parliamentary correspondent with the South African Press Association. He was sent to London as Sapa’s London editor and also served as special correspondent to the United Nations. He joined the then Argus group in London as political correspondent.

Returning to South Africa after 12 years abroad, he was assistant editor on the Pretoria News for a decade before becoming editor of the Star and SA Times for five years.

Since 1999 he’s been an independent journalist writing and broadcasting – mainly about Africa – for Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape
Talk, Radio France International, PressTV, Radio Live New Zealand, Business Day, Mail & Guardian, the BBC, Agence France Press,
Business in Africa, Leadership, India Today, the South African Institute for International Affairs and the Institute for Security Studies.

He has hosted current affairs talk shows on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk. He appears as an African affairs pundit on SABC Africa and CNBC Africa.
He lectured in contemporary studies to journalism students at the Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Pretoria.

He speaks on African affairs to corporate and other audiences.
He has been officially invited as a journalist to more than 30 countries. He was the winner of the 2007 SADC award for radio journalism.

He’s been a member of the EISA team observing elections in Somaliland, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Tunsiai.

In October 2009 he headed a group of 39 African journalists to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Peoples’ Republic of China.

In January 2010 he joined a rescue and paramedical team to earthquake struck Haiti.

He is immediate past president of the Alliance Francaise of Pretoria.

Jean-Jacques is a director of Giant Media. The company was given access to Nelson Mandela in his retirement years until 2009.
He is co-producer of the hour-long documentary Mandela at 90 that was broadcast on BBC in January 2009.