45 Ghanaians deported from Nigeria
By
A.R. Gomda
Another
batch of 21 Ghanaians has been deported from Nigeria, bringing the number so far
deported on the orders of two state governors to 45.
The
Nigerian High Commissioner in Accra,
Mohammed Musiliu Obanikoro, has however frowned upon the action, promising to
wade into immediately.
Earlier
on July 14, 2011, 24 Ghanaians were arrested and deported to Ghana- unable
to pick their belongings before the unexpected action. The batch was made up of
21 men, 2 women and a girl.
In
both instances, the deportations were ordered by state governors in the most
populous African country which runs a federal system in which foreign affairs,
defence and internal affairs are the preserves of the federal government in Abuja.
Details
available to DAILY GUIDE suggest that the latest bout of deportation saw the
rounding up of 21 persons upon the orders of the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun
Mimiko, in Western Nigeria.
The
deportees were arrested on July 16, 2011 and kept in confinement without
allowing them to pick their belongings until their final forced exit from Nigeria a few
days ago.
With
the thought of leaving their belongings behind pinching them, the deportees
were taken to the Nigeria/Benin border by road and handed over to the
immigration authorities of that country.
The
Beninois authorities then moved the deportees to their country's border with Togo, Hilla
Kondji, from where they were transported to the Togo/Ghana border of Aflao and
handed over to Ghanaian authorities.
DAILY
GUIDE learnt that the deportees at this point were handed over to National
Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in the Ketu North District of the
Volta Region.
Here,
they were registered and taken through the standard procedure for deportees. It
has emerged that no reason was proffered for their arrest and subsequent
deportation to Ghana.
Ironically,
more and more Nigerians, most of them without valid travel documents, continue
to troop to Ghana
for the purpose of mostly sojourning here.
Regarding
the earlier deportation, DAILY GUIDE was told that the Kwara State Governor who
ordered the arrests did not also give any reason for the action he ordered in
the state capital of Ilorin.
The
treatment meted out to this group of Ghanaians was no different from the one
they received at the hands of the Ondo
State government in
Akure, the state capital.
Observers
of the relations between the two countries are apprehensive about the backlash
of the Nigerian action which is in total contravention of ECOWAS Protocol.
In
the 80s, the two countries were engaged in a reprisal action which saw each of
them deporting aliens to their countries of origin.
Nigeria had also undertaken a
mass deportation of Ghanaians from that country in a spree which earned the
notorious mantra of 'Ghana Must Go'. So many years after the unfortunate
diplomatic incident, the mantra has refused to go because a bag has been named
after it. The bag was the most preferred by Ghanaians returning home from Nigeria at the
time.
It
was Nigeria which started
the deportation after demanding that every Ghanaian entering Nigeria should
provide proof of possessing an amount of $50. Failure to provide led to
outright deportation.
Ghana retaliated by also
making similar demands, leading to the two countries engaging in a messy
diplomatic row.
The
authorities of the two countries sought an amicable solution to the diplomatic
row which saw the withdrawal of the worrying trend eventually.
Until
now, the ECOWAS protocol has held sway with citizens of each country, availing
themselves of the opportunities thereof.
Ghana is home to third
generation Nigerians completely assimilated into the mainstream citizenship of
the country.
Descendants
of Captain Glover's 600 Hausa soldiers deployed to the then Gold Coast formed
the Gold Coast Constabulary, a nucleus of today's Ghana Armed Forces and police
service.
Most
of them married here after disbandment and have been finely assimilated into
the country. It is therefore absurd when the two countries engage in such nasty
diplomatic reprisals.
Ghanaian
authorities might not want to go the way of their Nigerian counterparts but if
they do, the repercussions could shake the foundation of ECOWAS.
Both
countries, previously part of the British colony, spent same currency under the
British West African monetary system.
The
Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana,
Alhaji Musiliu Obanikoro, in an interview with DAILY GUIDE , condemned the
action of the governors, describing it as the work of overzealous public
officials.
He
promised wading into it with the view to reviewing the trend. 'If it really
happened, we would take action to remedy the situation. Ghana and Nigeria cannot afford to return to the
old days. Our relations have improved so much that we cannot afford to allow a
few officials to cause friction between us. I would take action. I condemn it
in totality and would get to the bottom of it,' he said.
Regarding
the suspicion that the governors were responding to the danger posed by the
extreme Islamic grouping, Boko Haram, he said Ghana does not have Islamic
extremists.
source: modernghana
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