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.
