No more harassment or else… – Nigeria cautions Ghana over traders

The Nigerian government has served a strong warning to Ghana that it will no longer condone any acts of hostility against its citizens.

The government of Africa’s most populous country said it has heard the reports of the alleged harassment being meted out to its citizens by Ghanaian authorities.

The Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Nigeria, on its official Facebook page stressed, “Nigeria will no longer tolerate harassment of its citizens in Ghana.”

“The Nigerian government is deeply concerned by the incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the progressive acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities and will no longer tolerate such.

“In this regard, the Federal government is urgently considering a number of options aimed at ameliorating the situation,” the post said.

Nigeria’s anger comes after the closure of most Nigeria shops in two of Ghana’s regional capitals — Accra and Kumasi, respectively.

It also noted the fact that there are currently about one million Ghanaians living in Nigeria, but none faced such treatments.

“Ghanaians in Nigeria are not being subjected to the kind of hostility being meted out to Nigerians in Ghana. Nigeria has time after time demonstrated its fidelity to the long cordial relations with Ghana.

“But indications, especially in recent times, are that Nigeria’s stance is now being taken for granted and its citizens being made targets of harassment and objects of ridicule. This will no longer be tolerated under any guise,” the statement added.

Ghana’s law forbids foreigners from engaging in retail trade.

But with enforcement laxed, members of the Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) had often taken the law into its hands to shut down foreign-owned shops, mostly owned by Nigerians.

But recently the government formed a task force that closed down a number such shops in Accra and Kumasi.

GIPC law

Under the new GIPC Act, 2013 (Act 865), all enterprises in the country with foreign participation are required to register with the GIPC.

The minimum capital required for retail business has moved from US$300,000 to $1 million, while foreign investors who participate in joint venture enterprises have to show a minimum capital of $200,000 with wholly-owned foreign enterprises showing a minimum capital of $500,000.

Additionally, Section 28(5) of the Act stipulates that the minimum foreign capital requirements to invest in Ghana, including for engaging in trading, do not apply to the foreign spouse of a citizen of Ghana to the extent that the foreign spouse is or has been married to a citizen of Ghana for a minimum period of five years continuously or holds an indefinite resident permit prior to registration of an enterprise, amongst others.

However, the Nigerian authorities see the development as an affront to ECOWAS protocol on the movement of free goods and services as well as cross-boundary trade between member states.

The trade scuffle between Nigerians and Ghanaians has become a constant struggle between traders of the two countries.

Over 600 foreign-owned shops at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle were locked up by some members of the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA), in December 2019.

According to the association, the traders failed to produce their business operating permits.

In July, this year, some members of the Association (GUTA) clashed with Nigerian traders operating illegally at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

The traders closed down the shops of their Ghanaian counterparts for what they described as the “infiltration of foreigners into Ghana’s retail business.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has given indications that it may head to the ECOWAS Court for redress or throw out Ghanaian traders from Nigerian markets.

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Below is the full unedited statement

Nigeria Will No Longer Tolerate Harassment of Its Citizens in Ghana – FG

The Nigerian Government is deeply concerned by the incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the progressive acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities, and will no longer tolerate such.

In this regard, the Federal Government is urgently considering a number of options aimed at ameliorating the situation.

The Federal Government has been documenting the acts of hostility towards Nigeria and Nigerians by the Ghanaian authorities. These include:

• Seizure of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 10, Barnes Road, Accra, which the Nigerian Government has used as diplomatic premises for almost 50 years. This action is a serious breach of the Vienna Convention.

 

• Demolition of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 19/21 Julius Nyerere Street, East Ridge, Accra, another serious breach of the Vienna Convention.

 

• Aggressive and incessant deportation of Nigerians from Ghana.
  Between Jan. 2018 and Feb. 2019, 825 Nigerians were deported from Ghana.

 

• Closure of shops belonging to Nigerians. Over 300 Nigerians shops were locked for four months in Kumasi in 2018; over 600 Nigerian shops were locked in 2019 and, currently, over 250 Nigerians shops have been locked.

 

• Residency Permit requirements, for which the Ghana Immigration Service has placed huge fees, far higher than the fees charged by
  the Nigerian Immigration Service. These include the compulsory Non-citizen ID card (US$120, and US$60 for yearly renewal); Medical examinations, including for Covid-19 which is newly-introduced (about US$120), and payment for residency permit (US$400 compared to the N7,000 being paid by Ghanaians for residency card in Nigeria)

 

• Outrageous stipulations in the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act. When the Act was initially promulgated in 1994, a foreigner is required to invest at least US$300,000 by way of equity capital and also employ 10 Ghanaians. This Act has now been amended twice, with the 2018 GIPC Act raising the minimum capital base for foreign-owned businesses to US$1m. Though targeted at foreigners, it seems GIPC’s definition of foreigners is Nigerians. The GIPC Act also negates the ECOWAS Protocol.

 

• Media war against Nigerians in Ghana. The negative reportage of issues concerning Nigerians resident in Ghana by the Ghanaian media is fuelling an emerging xenophobic attitude towards Nigerian traders and Nigerians in general. The immediate fallout is the incessant harassment and arrest of Nigerian traders and closure of their shops.

 

• Harsh and openly-biased judicial trial and pronouncement of indiscriminately-long jail terms for convicted Nigerians. There are currently over 200 Nigerians in the Nsawam Maximum prison in Ghana alone.

The Federal Government will like to put on record the fact that even though over 1 million Ghanaians are resident in Nigeria, they are not being subjected to the kind of hostility being meted out to Nigerians in Ghana.

Also, even though the main reason given for the seizure of Federal Government property at ‪No. 10, Barnes Road in Accra‬ is the non-renewal of lease after expiration, the Ghanaian authorities did not give Nigeria the right of first refusal or the notice to renew the lease.

By contrast, the lease on some of the properties occupied by the Ghanaian Mission in Nigeria has long expired, yet such properties have not been seized.

Nigeria has time after time demonstrated its fidelity to the long cordial relations with Ghana. But indications, especially in recent times, are that Nigeria’s stance is now being taken for granted and its citizens being made targets of harassment and objects of ridicule.

This will no longer be tolerated under any guise.

In the meantime, the Federal Government wishes to appeal to its citizens resident in Ghana to remain law abiding and avoid engaging in self help, despite their ordeal.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
Honourable Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja
28 Aug. 2020