Amid pretensions about long-lasting friendly interactions, diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Ghana turned sour at the end in the past fortnight. The two countries stared at each other angrily owing to the aggressive treatment of Nigerians residing in Ghana and, in particular, the deliberate destruction by a Ghanaian citizen of a building that Nigeria claims to be a part of its diplomatic property.
Ghanaian diplomats couldn’t understand what the noise from Nigeria was all about. Apart from the damage done to the diplomatic building, Nigerians were visibly angry when Ghanaian officials confiscated and shut down businesses owned by some Nigerians resident in that country. Hostility toward Nigerian citizens in Ghana and the destruction of the Nigerian government building were interpreted as provocative, thoughtless, and unfriendly. These actions exposed the brittle nature of the so-called harmonious relationship between the two countries and, above all, undermined any notion of African unity.
Prompted by the events in Ghana and public anger in Nigeria, Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed wrote formally to Ghanaian authorities on August 28, 2020, to allege, among other issues, hostile treatment of Nigerians in Ghana. In his letter, Mohammed identified methodically acts allegedly committed by Ghanaian officials against Nigerian people and businesses in Ghana. He said the Nigerian government viewed those actions as offensive, unfriendly, unacceptable, and unwarranted.
Allegations against Ghana included illegal confiscation and destruction of a property owned by the Nigerian government in Ghana, the unfair expulsion of 825 Nigerians, unjustified closure of Nigerian businesses in Ghana, as well as bizarre residency permit conditions that Nigerian citizens were now required to meet. Lai Mohammed said all these constituted Ghana’s aggression against Nigerian citizens and Nigerian government interests.
I was going to shout “blue murder” but had to hold fire when I saw a reply written by Ghanaian Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, in response to Lai Mohammed’s letter. In his reply of August30, 2020, the Ghanaian minister said in a typical diplomatic language and tone: “Ghana remains committed to the maintenance of warm relations with all sister nations, particularly, for well-known historical reasons, with the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and will proceed to engage the Federal Government of Nigeria with a view to resolve comprehensively and exhaustively, any matters that have the potential to sour relations between the two countries…”
And then came the shocker. With reference to the destruction of the Nigerian diplomatic building in Accra, the Ghanaian minister said the claim by Nigeria that it owned the building located at 10, Barnes Road, Accra, which had served for many years as its diplomatic premises, was not accurate. He said: “The transaction was a commercial arrangement between Thomas D. Hardy, a private citizen and the High Commission of Nigeria in Ghana on 23rd October, 1959. The terms of the commercial lease expired 46 years ago, without any evidence of renewal by the High Commission of Nigeria in Ghana. The Government of Ghana was not involved in the transaction and has not seized the property in question.”
That was a bombshell. There are at least three questions that Nigerian officials must answer unambiguously and openly. First, did Nigeria renew the lease on the building after its expiry? Second, if Nigeria renewed the lease, did Nigerian authorities notify Ghana of this development over the past 46 years? Third, if this information was not provided to Ghana, who should be held responsible? If the Ghanaian minister’s account is correct, past officials of Nigerian governments must hold their heads in shame.
Before anyone loses their head, it is important to place the current misunderstanding in context. We cannot, in the name of patriotism, defend illegality. Look how diplomatic officials embarrass our government overseas. They do things mechanistically, carelessly, and unthinkingly. For 46 years, all previous government officials carried on business as usual in a diplomatic building whose lease had lapsed. For 46 years, not one official in previous governments thought it wise to advise an urgent renewal of an expired lease or take action to formally end the lease in order to acquire and relocate to a new building. Again, if the scenario portrayed by the Ghanaian minister is accurate, it shows our lackadaisical attitude to government business did not start this year.
Beyond the contested diplomatic building, Ghana must answer questions relating to the expulsion of hundreds of Nigerians, as well as why it confiscated and closed businesses owned by Nigerians.
Within Africa, Nigeria has always behaved like the proverbial “Big Brother” that absorbs undeserved abuses and insults and still preaches peaceful coexistence with other countries. Over the years, Nigeria’s magnanimity and friendly gestures have not been appreciated, reciprocated, or acknowledged. All these have led people to ask how long it would take our political leaders to rise and take strong action against African countries that regularly receive aid from Nigeria and repay with ingratitude and contempt.
Nearly eight years ago, precisely in 2012, diplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Africa (post-apartheid) dragged to the edge when South Africa deported 125 Nigerian passengers who had arrived in the country but were denied entry by South Africa’s immigration officials on the old-fashioned excuse that the Nigerians did not hold valid yellow fever vaccination cards. Deeply hurt by that decision, the Federal Government responded forcefully by expelling 28 South Africans. That response was meant to convey a no-nonsense message to South Africa that it did not have an absolute right over how it treated citizens of other countries in a disrespectful manner.
Ghanaian officials must have noted that action by Nigeria and did not want a similar experience in the latest stoush between the two countries. That knowledge could have informed Ghana’s push for a quick resolution of all issues with Nigeria in a diplomatic and satisfactory way.
Aside from the contested ownership of the damaged diplomatic building, Nigeria must send a message to Ghana to reinforce the point that those who treat its interests and citizens with utmost disregard should expect to experience the other side of the Nigerian government. In diplomatic language, that means hostile action. This is a standard practice in international relations. Punitive action is a weapon long used to sustain diplomatic relations. It may not always be what a country expects but often a country could be compelled to adopt that measure to ensure that its foreign interests and foreign policy are respected, recognised, and safeguarded.
However, even as we criticise the aggression directed at Nigerian citizens in Ghana, we must also admit that sharp practices by some Nigerians in Ghana and elsewhere have generated rising anger against their countrymen and women across the world. Regardless of where they reside, every Nigerian has an obligation to respect the laws of the country in which they operate. There are no grounds on which unlawful behaviour should be overlooked on the basis that the culprit is a Nigerian citizen. Unlawful behaviour is never tolerated in any country. To put it bluntly, no country breeds sacred cows that are allowed to roam freely to break the laws.
