Beyond Xenophobia: River Park Dispute Raises Fresh Questions Over Africa's Investment Future

 By Seyifunmi Odunuga 

For years, African leaders have championed the vision of a continent where people, businesses and investments move freely across borders. Through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), governments have promised a future defined by economic integration rather than political divisions.

Yet two recent developments—though different in nature—are raising uncomfortable questions about whether Africa is living up to that promise.

In South Africa, renewed xenophobic attacks targeting foreign Africans, including Nigerians, have once again exposed the vulnerability of migrants seeking opportunities on the continent. In Nigeria, a protracted ownership dispute involving Ghanaian-backed investments at Abuja's River Park Estate has reignited concerns about the security of cross-border investments and the protection afforded to foreign investors.

While one is a humanitarian crisis and the other a commercial dispute, both have become symbols of a broader challenge confronting Africa's integration agenda: Can Africans truly feel safe living, working and investing in other African countries?

The latest flashpoint is River Park Estate, one of Nigeria's largest private housing developments.

Recent video evidence from the estate shows sections of its perimeter fence demolished following reports that the gatehouse was destroyed on June 27 and parts of The Gallery Clubhouse were allegedly occupied days later. The footage has further intensified an already bitter ownership battle involving Nigerian businessman Dr. Adeniran Ogunmuyiwa and Ghanaian investors led by Kojo Ansah Mensah, who are backed by the Jonah Capital Group founded by Sir Sam Jonah.

Ogunmuyiwa insists he founded JonahCapital Nigeria Limited in 2006 and has accused the Ghanaian investors of attempting to wrest control of the company through the allocation of 99 million additional shares in 2024.

The Ghanaian investors reject those allegations, maintaining that they are the legitimate developers of the project through Mobus Properties Limited and JonahCapital.

The dispute has since moved beyond corporate disagreements.

It has drawn the attention of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, generated criminal proceedings that were later discontinued by the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and reportedly prompted Sir Sam Jonah to petition Ghana's Foreign Minister over what he described as threats to Ghanaian investments in Nigeria.

Although the courts continue to determine the competing claims, the images emerging from the estate have raised fresh concerns among observers about the message such disputes send to investors across Africa.

The timing is particularly significant.

Across the continent, governments are encouraging businesses to look inward rather than overseas. AfCFTA was designed to remove barriers to trade, encourage African capital to remain in Africa and create a single market of more than one billion people.

That ambition, however, depends on confidence.

Confidence that investors will enjoy legal protection.

Confidence that commercial disputes will be resolved through transparent judicial processes rather than physical confrontations.

And confidence that nationality will not become a disadvantage when investments run into conflict.

Those same concerns have resurfaced in South Africa, where recurring xenophobic attacks have repeatedly targeted African migrants operating small businesses or seeking employment.

For many Nigerians, the violence has reinforced fears that economic competition can quickly turn into hostility when foreign nationals become convenient targets.

For Ghanaian investors closely watching developments in Abuja, the River Park dispute may raise a different but equally important question: How secure are African investments beyond national borders

Neither case exists in isolation.

Both have implications that extend beyond the immediate parties involved.

Every unresolved cross-border dispute has the potential to influence how investors assess political risk, how governments manage diplomatic relations and how ordinary Africans perceive the promise of regional integration.

If Nigerian traders cannot feel safe operating businesses in Johannesburg, and Ghanaian investors begin questioning the security of investments in Abuja, Africa risks undermining the very confidence required for regional economic integration to succeed.

The challenge for African governments is therefore larger than resolving individual disputes.

It is about demonstrating that the rule of law—not nationality, political influence or public sentiment—remains the foundation for protecting lives, property and investments.

The River Park dispute will ultimately be decided by the courts and relevant authorities. Likewise, xenophobic violence in South Africa demands decisive law enforcement and accountability.

But together, the two developments expose a difficult reality.

Africa's greatest obstacle to deeper integration may no longer be tariffs, visas or border controls.

It may be whether Africans can genuinely trust fellow African states to protect them—and their investments—when they cross national borders.