KEY POINTS
- Individuals in Nigeria say that the *Nigerians Must Go protest in Ghana* could hurt diplomacy.
- Nigerian traders say that rent and business rules are unfair.
- Officials from Ghana and Nigeria step in to calm down xenophobic fears.
Ghana’s capital, Accra Nigerians living in Ghana have strongly condemned the “Nigerians Must Go protest in Ghana,” saying it looks like it was planned to cause a diplomatic crisis and shows long-standing discrimination and anger toward Nigerians.
Ghanaians who were protesting marched with signs asking for the removal of Nigerians because of their supposed involvement in crime, economic dominance, and prostitution. Demonstrators in red shirts held signs that said “Our kids are missing because of Igbos,” “Nigerians are kidnapping for rituals,” and “Our health is at risk because of mass prostitution.”
The “Nigerians Must Go” protest in Ghana sets off diplomatic alarms
Many Nigerians fear that the protest was deliberately staged to incite retaliation. Patrick Isaac, a businessman from Nigeria, said that traders were ready ahead of time. He also said, “We knew the protest was planned to get us to respond and cause a diplomatic crisis.”
He talked about how deep-seated bias affects the housing and business sectors, where Nigerian tenants pay too much rent and also rules are enforced in an arbitrary way.
Economic bias and unfair treatment of traders
Nigerian business owners say that their success makes people angry. A trader said that the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s $1 million fee for foreign investors unfairly affects small-scale Nigerian traders, making it too expensive for them to do business.
Furthermore, Emmanuel Chubike, a fashion designer from Imo State, confirmed reports of eviction notices and rent hikes of 50 percent as tensions between the two communities rose.
Governments step in as xenophobic fears rise
Authorities in both Nigeria and Ghana have tried to calm people down. Ghanaian President John Mahama told Nigerian envoy Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu that the small protest has been put down and won’t threaten peace in the region.
Minister Ojukwu-Ojukwu said he had been calm since arriving in Accra. Nigerian community leaders, on the other hand, spoke out against false information spread online. Desmond Princewill asked the government to make areas with a lot of Nigerians, like Nima, Mamobi, and Kasoa, safer.
