Ghanaian Parliament warns against possible xenophobic attack on Nigerians
Rising wave of urban criminality traced to some Nigerian youths is currently brewing mass attack on Nigerian businesses in Ghana, but top officials of the Parliament have warned against taking the law into their hands to cause xenophobic attack on Nigerians.
Statistics show that apart from diplomatic relations, there were closed to two million Ghanaians living in Nigeria and about seven million Nigerians living in Ghana.
The Ghanaian lawmakers were responding to trending publications on the involvement of some Nigerians arrested for high profile crimes, including the kidnapping of the two Canadian girls, said it had caused hatred for Nigerians living in Ghana.
However, the parliamentarians were further worried on the reaction of the Nigerian High Commission in Accra to the news in a statement, expressing concerns about the nature of reportage of crimes involving Nigerians by Ghana press, which demonstrated some form of xenophobia.
According to the Nigerian High Commissioner’s statement, the media reports on Nigerians and their biases had the potential to mar Ghana-Nigeria relations.
In his remarks at the Parliament, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Mr Frank Annor-Dompreh appealed to Ghanaians and the Media to refrain from making some prejudiced comments and reportage against Nigerian nationals living in Ghana.
He noted that “Such biased statements and comments, have the tendency to damage the long standing and cherished relationship between Ghana and Nigeria which dated back to many decades”.
The lawmaker stressed that “some recent pronouncements in the media on Nigerian nationals were not the best, adding that Ghanaians, especially the youth and Media must be measured in their comments on such issues.”
While warning Ghana media to be circumspect in tagging Nigerians living in Ghana with activities of criminality, he said “Any arrest, which has been made by the police, we will urge the police, and we also knowing that the Ghanaian Police are going to do their work dispassionately. Let respect the police, let us not precede prejudging the case that is reported in the media,” he said.
He revealed to Business Hilights Ghana Bureau chief that his Committee on Foreign affairs has invited the Nigerian High Commissioner in Accra to a meeting to discuss issues at stake, maintaining that “There is no cause for Ghanaians to worry about the Ghana-Nigeria relations as efforts are on to engage the High Commissioner and find amicable solution to the problem”.
Corroborating his Committee chairman’s position, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Ranking Member on the Committee of Foreign Affairs, said they are adopting a bi-partisan approach to addressing this issue.
He assured that the Leadership of the Committee on Foreign Affairs was aware that the trending matter remains sensitive and as such needs crucial time and maturity to resolve the issues.
According to him, “The Foreign Affairs Committee is getting increasingly concerned about the tone and the reportage, and what is going on social media”, and cautioned that if care was not taken it could trigger and jeopardize the long standing Ghana-Nigeria relations.
“We do not want the start of any xenophobic attack, no matter where they may start from whether in Ghana or Nigeria. There is so much that we both have to lose” he added.
He recalled that time has come to call on Ghanaians to be guided by history of the events that happened in 1969 and 1983 where nationals from both countries were deported popularly tagged as ‘Nigeria Must Go’ and ‘Ghana Must Go’.
