President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Ghana’s President John Mahama are in active discussions to de-escalate tensions arising from anti-Nigerian protests in Accra, following widespread calls for the deportation of Nigerian nationals.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, confirmed the dialogue, expressing confidence in the Ghanaian government’s handling of the situation.
”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 just 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.
The minister emphasized the importance of learning from past events, warning that if current tensions are not handled with care, they could lead to a repeat of painful chapters in the region’s shared history. He stressed that such incidents must serve as a reminder of the consequences of division and poor crisis management.
He called for restraint, maturity, and empathy from all parties, urging both Ghanaians and Nigerians to see each other as one people with deep cultural and historical ties. While highlighting Ghana’s symbolic role in Pan-African unity, he stated “we should remember that we are one person. Let us remember that Ghana is the headquarters of Pan Africanism.”
