Nigerians Must Go Protest: Odumegwu-Ojukwu Calls For Calm…Assures Nigerians, ‘No Cause For Alarm’

By Bukar BOLORI

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, as part of her visit to Ghana to douse the tension brought about by the demand by Ghanaians for expulsion of Nigerians from their country, has appealed for calm.

The minister, who spoke at a joint press briefing with Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Samuel Ablakwa, in Accra, on Wednesday, declared that there was no cause for alarm.

She said the viral videos indicating disturbances had caused anxiety, prompting President Bola Tinubu to dispatch the special envoy to the country for a firsthand assessment of the situation.

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 have made the rounds in Nigeria. The government and the people of Nigeria have been concerned with the widespread protests that have been taking 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.

“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 are pleased to note that things are rather calm here. Since we arrived, 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 stakeholders.

“The tensions that had been generated by these viral videos in Nigeria seem to have literally evaporated once we arrived to see that there were no visible protests that were ongoing. 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 always don’t consider the far-reaching effects of the actions they take and sometimes they jeopardise the lives of people who in most cases are innocent. So, our government has been concerned, our National Assembly has been concerned, our traditional institutions have been concerned, and the ordinary citizens on the streets have been concerned about the tensions that have been generated in Ghana. And 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.

“So, we had a very constructive engagement with the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs and he assured us on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama of the safety of our nationals in Ghana and that they are free to go about their daily activities without fear and without anxiety bearing in mind the history, the references and the painful memories of the past that neither of us are keen on witnessing.”

She, however, highlighted the need for both countries to ensure and encourage cordiality among its citizens.

She explained that her delegation had met with some of the leaders and individuals involved in a bid to deescalate tensions.

She also harped on the need to institutionalise the Nigeria-Ghana Joint Commission, noting that this would help in engendering closer relations including at citizen-to-citizen level.

Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ablakwa, said the ministry was addressing the matter and has met with some leaders of the Nigerian community as well as engaged positively with the citizens of Ghana.

He said: “The Ghanaian government will ensure that everyone in the country — citizens and non-citizens — is protected.”

He added that while the country will protect everyone, people also need to be “law-abiding and avoid criminal activities and actions that could divide us.Ghana’s Foreign Minister further acknowledged the long-standing cordial and brotherly relationship between both nations and their citizens.”

He also highlighted the fact that the trending videos were not reflective of the actual situation on ground disclosing that he had met with the Nigerian accused of attempting to form a kingdom in Ghana and it was explained out that territorial ambitions were never the intention nor the plan.

He stated that Ghana has a lot of population in Nigeria. And both countries have a lot in common and both nations need to manage their citizens’ relations very well in order not to see to the reoccurrence of the Aliens Repatriation Order in Ghana and the Ghana Must Go protests of 1983 in Nigeria.

“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 a number of so-called foreigners being removed from Ghana and you also recall Ghana must go in 1983, when millions of Ghanaians were forced out of Nigeria. We are conscious of that history which should guide all of us that if these things are not managed well, it will take us back to certain dark occurrences in our history. That is why we are demonstrating a lot of maturity and asking that we douse the flames and show compassion. We should remember that we are one person. Let us remember that Ghana is the headquarters of Pan Africanism,” the minister stated.

Those accompanying the Minister on the fact-finding mission include the Director, Africa Affairs Department in the ministry, Amb. Regina Ocheni; Director, Office of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Innocent Iwejuo, and Special Assistant (Administration) to the Minister of State, Mr. Ajuluchukwu Eze.