GHANAIANS have renewed protests seeking the deportation of Nigerians from their country.
The ICIR observed on Wednesday, July 30, from viral videos, how protesters in large numbers, held placards with various inscriptions such as “Armed robbery and violent attacks must stop”; “Our health at stake due to mass prostitution”; “Who protects the right and freedom of Ghanaians”; “Nigerians are kidnapping and using people for rituals”; “Our kids are getting missing because of Igbos,” among others.
In one of the videos, a visually impaired man shouted into a camera, urging President John Mahama to fulfil his “Ghana First” pledge.
Ghanaians demanding the deportation of Nigerians from Ghana
Ghanaians demanding the deportation of Nigerians from Ghana
They also held up a photo of a man who was reportedly killed by a Nigerian in the Accra area.
Another protester in a separate video alleged that Nigerians were killing and robbing Ghanaians.
“Our children can not go out and come back. You can not come (home) back at night,” the protester sitting on a bike said.
In another video, a protester decried the increase in human trafficking and prostitution allegedly caused by Nigerians.
Recall that in 1983, Nigerian former President Shehu Shagari cited similar issues of rising crime and economic pressure as justification for the mass expulsion of Ghanaian immigrants.
“If they don’t leave, they should be arrested, tried and sent back to their homes.
“Illegal immigrants, under normal circumstances, should not be given any notice whatsoever. If you break a law, then you have to pay for it,” the former President had said.
Nigeria eventually expelled over two million undocumented immigrants, mostly Ghanaians, during a crippling economic downturn, which birthed the now-iconic checkered plastic bags known as “Ghana Must Go.”
However, the deportation did not start with Nigeria. Ghana was the first to launch the onslaught. Three million migrants, mostly Nigerians, were asked to leave Ghana under the “Ghana Aliens Compliance Order” law enacted by the country’s Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia in 1969.
How the latest protest started
The “Nigerians must go” protest was triggered by the installation of a Nigerian traditional leader, Eze Chukwudi Ihenetu, as the “Eze Ndi Igbo Ghana” (King of the Igbo People in Ghana) earlier this month.
Ghanaian youth groups and cultural advocates opposed the installation, saying that the presence of a foreign monarch undermined Ghana’s sovereignty and traditional chieftaincy institutions.
The title ‘Eze Ndi Igbo’ is widely recognised within Igbo diaspora communities as a symbolic representation of cultural leadership.
The protesters urged the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to intervene and clarify whether Ghanaian law allowed foreigners to assume royal titles within the country.
Responding to the controversy, Ihenetu defended his title, explaining that it was purely ceremonial and intended to foster unity within the Igbo community in Ghana.
The protest worsened when a widely circulated video showing Ghanaian broadcaster, Captain Smart, kneeling before Eze Ihenetu during a public event, igniting intense debate across social media platforms.
The ICIR reports that both countries belong to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which guarantees the right of citizens to reside and work in member countries.
Nigeria and Ghana have long shared cultural ties, trade relationships, and a history of reciprocal migration. But the growing tensions reveal the fragility of ECOWAS solidarity when faced with domestic unrest.
Countries making up the ECOWAS recently depleted after Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso
Nigerian government reacts
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has reacted to the crisis. The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, called for calm and condemned the protest.
In a statement she issued on Tuesday, July 29, Dabiri-Erewa said Nigerians were not criminals as alleged by the Ghanaians.
“Nigerians are not criminals. They are good ambassadors wherever they find themselves. Ghana and Nigeria are like Siamese twins… they should continue to live in peace,” she said.
She advised Nigerians in Ghana to avoid provocation or engaging in violence, assuring that the matter was being addressed diplomatically by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu.
“Ghana and Nigeria are like Siamese twins. They are brothers, and in the spirit of ECOWAS and regional integration, should continue to live in peace like brothers,” she added.
However, the Ghanaian government has yet to issue a statement on the situation or address the demands to expel Nigerians from the country, regardless of their legal status.
The ICIR reports that the current crisis emerged from the embers of similar crises in 2020, which both nations diplomatically managed.
Ghana had threatened to deport Nigerians illegally living on its territory.
Ghanaians had demanded that Nigerians quit their country because they were taking over their jobs.
They were also displeased with increasing Nigerian businesses in the country, which they claimed did not comply with local laws which give advantage to citizens.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.