Video: Ex-Nigerian Ambassador clarifies calls for Nigerians to exit Ghana
Abdullateef Fowewe
Demola Onofowokan, the former Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, has addressed the recent protests in Ghana where demonstrators are urging Nigerians to leave the nation.
Onofowokan clarified that the agitation is not aimed at all Nigerians; rather, it specifically targets certain groups, particularly informal or tertiary-level traders and those perceived as unwelcome contributors to the Ghanaian economy and society.
In an interview with Arise TV, Onofowokan noted that the tensions have not arisen suddenly but have developed over several years, stemming from deep-rooted economic and social issues.
He said, “There’s a lot to this. The call for Nigerians to leave Ghana is not actually for Nigerians as a whole to leave Ghana.
“I think the focus is on the tertiary traders and people whom I would describe as probably undesirable to their system, to their economy.
“This has been brewing for years. Yes, we are Ghana’s biggest trading partner in Africa. 60% of ECOWAS trade exchange resides in Nigeria, 40% probably in Lagos.
“We have a very cordial relationship with Ghana, I bet, with some rivalry, especially in sports, but we have more in common than just trading.
“Before independence, we shared the same currency. We had the same airline, and our first set of soldiers, along with Ghanaians who are trained in Teshie.
“Came 1969 during Kofi Busia, Ghana was probably overwhelmed when they said, Nigerians must go. A lot of Nigerians returned, but still a lot of Nigerians remained in Ghana because I saw them there while I served there. They never left that country.
“The current situation of asking Nigerians to leave their country is very economical. Ghana’s economy is struggling, trying to come up the way it was before, but the trade, especially tertiary trade, has been dominated by Nigerians.
“I experienced this when I was there. Many times I had to step up to make sure that this didn’t happen.
“It also has to do with our level of representation. I think if we had an ambassador or High Commissioner on the ground, it probably won’t get to this, because a high commissioner or an ambassador would have made contacts at the highest level, starting from ministerial, like I did, up to the highest level.”
