There is a belief that Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, was elected on the promise that he will deal with Nigerians. Some will say, Nigerians are being punished for the crime of its past because 36 years ago former
President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, ordered Ghanaians out of Nigeria on the excuse of economic sabotage which led to the infamous phrase “Ghana Must Go”
It’s 2019 & it is a norm to hear about Xenophobic attacks against several Africans living in other African countries & most of the time, Nigerians are always at the top of list for these attacks.
As a Nigerian myself, I am very scared of going on holiday in South Africa talk-less of living there but it is heartbreaking to see that our brother/sister country is also giving this treatment to fellow Nigerians living in their country.
Here are a few reported cases of mal-treatments towards Nigerians in Ghana:
- 400 shops belonging to Nigerians in Ghana, were placed under lock and keys in 2018, resulting in protests by the aggrieved traders, the Nigerian Minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, summoned the Ghanaian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Alhaji Rashid Bawa, to explain the reason behind such anti-bilateral action and the overall maltreatment of Nigerians in Ghana.
- The deportation of “723 Nigerians from Ghana” in February this year. The excuse was that: “The deportees were cyber-fraudsters, prostitutes and ‘illegals’
- There is this fear that the Ghanaian government could come up with a law to oppress Nigerian businesses in Ghana. Just as in the case where Nigerian traders were asked to raise their capital to $1 million or leave.
- There is fear by an average Nigerian on Ghanaian street that he could be whisked away by the police on false allegations, (which has resulted in an overwhelming number of Nigerians in Ghana prisons) or the locals attacking them because another Nigerian has committed a crime.
- The Ghanaian authorities prosecute landlords who give accommodation to Nigerians if their backgrounds are not known.
- Major transport companies in Nigeria have had to deal with the inconsistencies of the rules of Ghana Custom Service (GCS) and GIS – starting from a requirement for entry to your stay in Ghana all in total disregard of the ECOWAS protocol.
- The breach of the ECOWAS protocol by the Ghanaian government and its people has always been justified with the excuses of crime committed by Nigerians. And it’s getting worse.
- Radio talk shows, social media, and words on the street are all preaching the “need” to keep an eye out for Nigerians.
- Let’s not forget the Nigerian professor of English who teaches in a Ghanaian university lent his voice to the outcry, decrying the incessant harassment that Nigerians are receiving with proportionate increment.
In the Ghanaian education sector alone, Nigerian students contribute about N300BN annually & there is the banking sector with almost 10 Nigerian Banks operating fulling in Ghana. Dangote Group, Globacom, Coscharis, and multiple insurance companies from Nigeria have done more to employment and Ghanaian economy than her indigenous companies.
With all of this, I blame our government for continually showing themselves as useless & complete utter failure to provide the basic needs of the average Nigerian, if the Nigerian government does not respect its citizens, how do we command respect from any other government?
Culled From PUNCH
