Friday, August 1, 2025 - President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Ghanaian counterpart John Mahama are in touch to ensure that the tensions generated by the ‘Nigerians-Must-Go’ protests in Accra do not hamper the age-long relationship between the two important West African countries, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu has said.
Mrs. Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who expressed happiness that there
have been no such protests since she led a Federal Government team to the
Ghanaian capital on Sunday, assured Nigerians in Ghana that there was no cause
for alarm.
She said: ‘’I haven’t seen people burning tyres in the
streets or carrying placards everywhere calling for Nigerians to be deported.
This shows that the Ghanaian Government and the president
have stepped up to the situation — I would say there’s no cause for alarm. They
are handling the situation effectively, and we will continue engaging all
stakeholders.’’
The minister gave assurance at a joint news conference she
had with Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Ablakwa on Wednesday.
The minister, according to a statement yesterday by her
media aide, Magnus Eze, explained that President Tinubu directed her to
lead the team to Ghana for a first-hand assessment of the situation.
Mrs. Odumegwu-Ojukwu said: “We are here in the
Republic of Ghana on a fact-finding mission as special envoy of President Bola
Ahmed Tinubu as a result of recent disturbances that made the rounds in
Nigeria.
‘’The government and the people of Nigeria have been
concerned with widespread protests that have taken place in Ghana, requesting
Nigerians to leave and dousing tensions in Nigeria regarding the safety of
lives and property of our nationals residing here in Ghana.’’
The minister, who thanked President Mahama for the warm
reception accorded the Nigerian team, appealed to Nigerians to be law-abiding.
She also harped on the need for a joint commission to douse
the tensions generated by viral videos on an alleged plan by a self-styled Igbo
monarch to build a kingdom in Ghana.
She said: “I must start by saying thank you to the President
of the Republic of Ghana, President John Dramani Mahama, for the warm reception
we received when we arrived.
‘’We want to reiterate essentially that Nigeria and
Ghana have long been partners as a result of our shared history. We have a
special relationship that so much binds us together. And these sights of
inciting videos and rhetoric are capable of causing irrepressible damage.
‘’They are capable of inflaming nations within the shortest
possible time because young people don’t always consider the far-reaching
effects of the actions they take, and sometimes, they jeopardise the lives of
people who in most cases, are innocent.
‘’Our government has been concerned and ordinary citizens on
the streets have been concerned about the tensions that have been generated in
Ghana. They want to be assured that Nigerian nationals in Ghana are
coexisting very well with their Ghanaian brothers and that their lives are not
in any danger at all.’’
Mrs. Odumegwu-Ojukwu added that Ghana’s Foreign
Affairs Minister Ablakwa not only assured the team of the safety of Nigerians,
but also of their freedom to go about their daily activities.
Ablakwa said his ministry had met with some leaders of the
Nigerian community and those of Ghana.
“The Ghanaian government will ensure that everyone in the
country — citizens and non-citizens — is protected,” Ablakwa was quoted as
saying.
He added that while Ghana would protect everyone, people
also need to be “law-abiding and avoid actions that could divide us.’’
The Ghanaian minister also acknowledged the long-standing
brotherly relationship between the nations and their citizens.
He pointed out that the trending videos were not
reflective of the actual situation on the ground. He said that he met with the
Nigerian accused of attempting to form a kingdom in Ghana, who explained that
territorial ambition was never his plan.
He said: “We are conscious of our history, that even though
we have our historical backgrounds with lots of our ethnic groups having the
same heritage and antecedents, we have so many anthropological antecedents
which show that we are one person.
“Regardless of that, there was a time in our past when we
had issues. You remember the Aliens Repatriation Order, which saw several
so-called foreigners being removed from Ghana, and you also recall the Ghana
Must-Go incident in 1983, when millions of Ghanaians were forced out of
Nigeria.
‘’We are conscious of that history which should guide all of
us, that if these things are not managed well, it will take us back to certain
dark occurrences in our history.
‘’That is why we are demonstrating a lot of maturity and
asking that we douse the flames and show compassion.
‘’We should remember that we are one person. Let us remember
that Ghana is the headquarters of Pan Africanism.”
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