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On the weekend of Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August, a barrage of phone calls, whatsApp, MSM messages bombarded my phone with alarming numbers like never before in the recent past.
While some of the messages came through some high profile people, including; from a sitting Nigerian governor to former senators, members of the House of Representatives and presidential staff, the others came from many ordinary Nigerian friends and colleagues whom I respect, and with whom I also share strong pan-African values.
Some of these messages were discussions full of raw emotions, while others were exchanges of views on the strategic relations between Ghana and Nigeria.
Crux of the matter
At the center of all the spiteful outbursts and debates was the alleged inhumane treatment inflicted by the Ghanaian authorities on Nigerian citizens in Ghana. The initial uproar focused on the problem of the Ghanaian authorities preventing non-citizens from engaging in retail businesses in local Ghanaian markets, but I am assuming that since last Friday, the Ghanaian authorities now see the matter far beyond the retail trade war.
I was shocked to the spine last Friday, August 28, when Nigerian Information Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed signed a strongly worded press release in Abuja, warning the Ghanaian authorities and demanding the immediate cessation of an alleged ” incessant harassment ” of Nigerian citizens in Ghana.
Allegations
The Nigerian minister cataloged around eight incidents of alleged abuses inflicted on Nigerian interests in Ghana, which included; the demolition of the Nigerian High Commissioner building and the seizure of Nigerian government property in Accra.
The other alleged ill-treatment included; what they described as rampant deportation of Nigerian nationals from Ghana, closure of Nigerian-owned retail stores, Ghanaian immigration authorities demanding exorbitant residence permit fees from Nigerians, imposition of harsh investment laws on Nigerian merchants, the use of the Ghanaian media to campaign against Nigerians in Ghana, and eventually outright biases and harsh court pronouncements on Nigerians prosecuted in Ghana, culminating in the imprisonment of 200 Nigerians in Ghana.
Honestly, I have yet to find out which stratum of good foreign policy practice supports the use of Information Ministers to warn a sister country rather than a Foreign Minister, who has a wide range of instruments at his disposal to address concerns. .
Many observers noted that the use of the latter influenced the entire conversation in malicious local propaganda in Nigeria, rather than trying to address a foreign policy issue.
Relations of sister countries
This open statement from the Nigerian Minister of Information is likely to harm our relations and damage the long-standing brotherhood, because the charges that were raised in the statement were improperly directed and were not intended to address the situation, but rather had the intention to incite common emotions and create disaffection. between citizens of these two great countries.
It is my firm belief that the Nigerian press release last Friday will awaken the Ghanaian government to understanding the true feelings of our brothers in Nigeria, as Nigerians warn that they were documenting the alleged hostilities against their citizens in Ghana.
Foreign policy commentators are aware of the extraordinary good relations that exist between Ghana and Nigeria, and the two countries are deeply in debt to each other.
As someone with a modest understanding of international politics, I know how we extol Nigeria among the friends of Ghana and regard it as the best friend of our nation. Ghana owes a lot to Nigeria, and time and space here may not allow me to list all the extraordinary support that Nigeria provides to our country and our people.
Therefore, it is repulsive for the leaders of these two countries to allow pure propaganda to replace the cordial relations built together over several decades.
The truth on the ground
All eight but one charges brought by the Nigerian Minister of Information against Ghana lack the breadth to stand and I wonder if the accomplished Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama approved his release, because most of the charges are trivial. and they should not come from our respected and a great brother country like Nigeria, the superpower of our continent.
It amuses me how someone, especially a diplomat, can send intelligence information to their home country that a single law passed by a friendly sister nation, without any prior disagreement, targets Nigerian citizens.
The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has one of the best investigative departments in the world, with an efficient workforce that can match any country on the planet, yet the intelligence gathered against the Ghanaian authorities is absurd and could be misinterpreted as substandard and ineffective diplomatic staff in Nigerian Missions.
Nigeria has a strong case against the private landowner for the criminal demolition of his property. Although the lease on the property had expired, the owner undoubtedly made a big mistake by tearing down the Nigerian High Commission building and seizing the High Commission property in Accra.
Whoever is behind that decision must be held accountable, and I am happy that this is the position of the government of Ghana.
President Akufo-Addo’s reaction
Our nation’s leader, Nana Akufo-Addo, is an accomplished human rights lawyer and seasoned diplomat, and she would not endorse this kind of blatant anarchy.
His prompt reaction to the matter in speaking directly with President Muhammadu Buhari and accepting the reconstruction of the High Commissioner for Nigeria and also assuring him of our renewed commitment to strengthening relations between our two countries is a sign of leadership and a commitment to good neighborliness was broad. evidence.
Apart from that, private landowners took the law into their own hands and demolished the High Commissioner’s building, in clear contravention of the Vienna Convention, which President Akufo-Addo condemned and made reparations directly to the highest political echelons of Nigeria. , the many other issues raised in the press release are sentimental and seek to serve other purposes in addition to seeking an amicable solution to the impasse.
President Mahamadu Buhari and his Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeame are men of great honor and principle, known and respected globally, and they both know that Ghana and Nigeria are heavily in debt to each other, so we will not bias deliberately our laws to attack Nigerians.
Ghana is one of the best places for Nigerians and we love each other. The evidence is there for verification. Therefore, it is outrageous that some people undermine good relationships, especially on the basis of disrespect for the laws of others’ country, in the name of brotherhood.
The deportation of some Nigerians is highly desirable because they abuse great hospitality. The drafters of our investment laws certainly did not have Nigerians in mind when the GIPC Act was enacted. Until the laws are repealed, they will bite anyone who offends them, whether they are Togolese, Liberians, Ivorians, Burkinabe, Nigerians, Chinese, Indians or Malians.
The statement of the Minister of Information that our media is hostile to Nigerians, the less said about it the better. Even the president of Ghana is not spared the scrutiny of the free press, having led the process of repeal of the law to free the media when he was Attorney General of Ghana, under President Kufuor.
The government certainly cannot influence the media against Nigeria, because the media space is pluralistic.
My biggest headache is the accusation against the Ghanaian judiciary. Ghana’s justice system is one of the best in Africa and there is a free trial in our courts to the admiration of the world. Our judicial independence is part of the reason Ghana is listed as one of the best places to do business in Africa.
recommendations
Therefore, it is out of place to suggest that 200 Nigerians held in various prisons in Ghana are victims of harsh court pronouncements. Personally, I will volunteer to work and build a team that will seek Ghana to open our prisons, to allow a team of independent international judges to review case by case of Nigerians incarcerated in our prisons.
Not because I am a Ghanaian who deeply loves this great nation; I know that our country is always fair and hospitable to everyone, and also unique within the community of nations. Welcome all Africans and fellow blacks to come and stay here with the same rights and justice.
It is imperative for everyone to uphold Ghana-Nigeria relations and work to deepen them for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
However, without respecting the laws of each country, these two countries will continue to have these kinds of challenges.
I am not authorized to speak on behalf of Ghana, but I believe that our country is ready to sit together with Nigeria, flanked by independent observers, at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja to solve these small challenges.
Sitting together in the ECOWAS Secretariat is better than posting sentimental press releases and coercing independent Ghana to rewrite our laws.
Ghana is not the 37th state of Nigeria; but Nigeria is our indispensable partner.
Long live Ghana-Nigeria relations!
The author is a development management specialist and executive chairman of the Northern Democratic and Development Institute (NDDI) Ghana in Tamale.
He also sits on the Board of four private corporate bodies and serves as the External Relations Advisor to the King and Supreme Lord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II.
Source: GNA
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