Nigeria will no longer tolerate harassment of its citizens in Ghana Lai Mohammed

The Nigerian Government has said it will no longer tolerate harassment of its citizens in neighbouring Ghana.

The Nigerian government said the progressive acts of hostility towards the country and its citizens by the Ghanaian authorities and people must stop.

In a statement by Nigeria’s Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammad on Friday in Abuja, the Federal Government revealed that it was urgently considering a number of options aimed at ameliorating the situation.

Timeline of activities
In the statement, the Minister disclosed some of the unacceptable acts perpetrated by the Ghanaian government and people to include: Seizure of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 10, Barnes Road, Accra, which the Nigerian Government has used as diplomatic premises for almost 50 years.

“This action is a serious breach of the Vienna Convention. Demolition of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 19/21 Julius Nyerere Street, East Ridge, Accra, another serious breach of the Vienna Convention”.

Also the Nigerian authority revealed the deliberate, aggressive and incessant deportation of Nigerians from Ghana between January 2018 and February 2019.

In particular, about 825 Nigerians were deported from Ghana.

Nigerian businesses in Ghana suffered similar feat under dubious guise.

“Over 300 Nigerians’ shops were locked for four months in Kumasi in 2018, over 600 Nigerian shops were locked in 2019 and currently, over 250 Nigerians shops have been locked”.

According to the Nigerian government, another area is that of immigration, particularly, the Ghana Immigration Service has placed huge fees on the residency permit requirement far higher than the fees charged by the Nigerian Immigration Service.

“These include the compulsory Non-citizen ID card (US$120, and US$60 for yearly renewal), Medical examinations, including those for Covid-19, which was recently introduced, (about US$120)”.

Nigeria also describes as unacceptable the outrageous stipulations in the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act.

“When the Act was initially promulgated in 1994, a foreigner was required to invest at least US$300,000 by way of equity capital and also employ at least 10 Ghanaians. 

This same Act has now been amended twice, with raising the minimum capital base for foreign-owned businesses to US$1m, though targeted at foreigners, but  it clearly seems, the GIPC’s definition of foreigners is Nigerians. It has also been observed the Act also negates the ECOWAS Protocol”.

Media attacks against Nigerians
According to the Ministers statement, there is also an unfairly designed and deliberate media attacks against Nigerians in Ghana.

“The negative reportage of issues concerning Nigerians resident in Ghana by the Ghanaian media is fuelling an emerging xenophobic attitude towards Nigerian traders and other regular Nigerians living in Ghana”.

Unfair judicial proceedings
The Nigerian government has also uncovered a systematic unfairness in judicial proceedings targeted at Nigerians.

“There is a systematic, harsh and openly-biased judicial trial and pronouncement of indiscriminately-long jail terms for convicted Nigerians. 

Our records indicate that there are currently over 200 Nigerians in the Nsawam Maximum prison in Ghana alone”, the statement read.

Setting the records straight
According to the Nigerian Government, even though over one million Ghanaians are resident in Nigeria, they are not being subjected to the kind of hostility being meted out to Nigerians in Ghana and as such, those actions must be stopped forthwith.

“Also, even though the main reason given for the seizure of the Nigerian Government property at No. 10, Barnes Road in Accra was the non-renewal of lease after expiration, the Ghanaian authorities did not give Nigeria the right of first refusal or the notice to renew the lease.

By contrast, the lease on some of the properties occupied by the Ghanaian Mission in Nigeria has long expired, yet such properties have not been seized”.

The statement further disclosed that Nigeria has over time demonstrated its fidelity to the long cordial relations with Ghana, but indications, especially in recent times, have shown that such stance is now being taken for granted.

“This will no longer be tolerated under any guise. In the meantime, the Nigerian Government wishes to appeal to its citizens resident in Ghana to remain law abiding and avoid engaging in self help, despite their ordeal”, the statement added.

Nigeria and Ghana are very close neighbours with long standing diplomatic relations in areas of politics, education, film, trade and investment and are both members of the common wealth.

However, the lofty relationship is being threatened by recent actions by the Ghanaian government and people which the Nigerian government has termed unacceptable.