The Government of Nigeria has assured its people that it will take “…urgent steps…” against Ghana following the release of a video that showed the shutting down and closure of shops belonging to Nigerian traders and residents in Ghana.
Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, made this announcement in a tweet expressing his government’s shock of the events in the video. He tweeted: “Nigerian Government has watched with dismay the painful videos of the forceful closure of the shops of Nigerian traders in #Ghana. Urgent steps will be taken. #StayHomeSaveLives #COVID19 @NigeriaGov @DigiCommsNG @ecowas_cedeao
The video was released a few months after a critical diplomatic issue where a building in the Nigerian Embassy compound in Ghana was demolished. This video in question shows a Nigerian man having a conversation with security agents as they lock up his shop. The Nigerian claims in the video that he was asked to pay $1m (£750,000) as tax.
And the Government of Nigeria responded after the Members of the Local Union of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) in Koforidua in Eastern Region, last Thursday, expressed their agitation over the influx of Nigerian traders in the retail business; which is contrary to the laws of Ghana. Therefore, the Local GUTA issued an ultimatum that demanded that all Nigerian Retail Shops were to be closed by August 31, 2020. They were even threatened to be forcefully ejected by thugs if they did not heed to the ultimatum.
This follows months of frictions and clashes between the Nigerian traders and Ghanaian traders in the retail business in Ghana. Clashes have occurred at the Abossey Okai, Circle and Kumasi between Nigerian traders and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).
A pressure group called the Human Rights Writers Association, has called upon the Nigerian Government to rain the same treatment on Ghanaian businesses in Nigeria. People still wonder the reason behind these actions by Ghanaians, considering agreements on free trade and movement reached by the regional body, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
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Edem is a writer and loves to read. He believes that writing is an instrument of expression and an advocator of ideologies that can cause significant changes to our current dispensation and the future.
