Things are not going well with Nigerians living in Ghana at the moment. There has been a growing disaffection from Ghanaians towards Nigerians after a recent kidnapping incident which some Nigerians in the Kumasi area of the country were allegedly part of the syndicate.
Reports in the Ghanaian media had alleged that the kidnapping of the two Canadian women was carried out by Nigerians where in fact the gang was made up of five Ghanaians and three Nigerians.
Responding to the backlash against Nigerians following several cases of such reports, Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Olufemi Abikoye said that the Ghanaian media has made it a singular task to use the actions of “insignificant few elements” in demonizing Nigerians living in the country.
“Suffice to say that at times like this, a situation where five Ghanaians in company of three Nigerians allegedly kidnapped two Canadians but seems to enjoy wider press coverage as a crime committed by the Nigerians and considers Ghanaians only as accomplices leave much to be desired on the objectivity of such report. In the light of the above, the High Commission wishes to appeal to the local traditional media and social media to be highly circumspect in such reportage,” he stated
The issue escalated to the extent where Ghanaian locals locked up stores belonging to Nigerian traders in Kumasi.
In the middle of the crisis, Austin Nwagbara, a Nigerian professor at the University of Education in Winneba, Ghana urged Nigerians in a leaked viral video to use media to get back at Ghana. He went ahead to say that Nigeria has skill and talents but lack strategy.
He was arrested and accused of making inciting comments that could breach public peace. He was later released on bail after interrogation and subsequently fired from the university.
The Chairman of the foreign affairs of Ghana, Frank Dompreh said that he’ll be having a chat with the Nigerian High Commissioner to amicably resolve the issues and strengthen ties between the two countries.
“We are threading cautiously, but unfortunately recent pronouncements in the media is not the best,” he said.
