A Distress Call From Ghana
By Reuben Abati I got a frantic call from Ghana the other day. It was from Lillian. The Ghanaian authorities were shutting down shops belonging to Nigerian traders at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra . The Inter-Governmental Task Force set up by the Government of Ghana to regulate retail trade had arrested about 50 Nigerians. Many of them were detained. “The situation is not good at all, someone needs to come to their rescue,” she said. This is not a new matter. Across Africa , the Nigerian trader is often resented by the local population, on the grounds that Nigerians are either taking over their businesses or their women. But the reported attack on Nigerians in Ghana is most disturbing. Both countries share many affinities: historical, cultural, political and social. Nigerians love to go to Ghana . It is less than an hour away by air and it is a stable, organised society. Since the reversal of fortunes between b...