Some Nigerians base in Ghana Narrates how they still suffer xenophobia attacks from Ghanaians

Over the years , xenophobia attack on Nigerians living in Ghana especially traders is something that though it’s not often discussed, it has increased due to lack of government intervention, Here are narratives from some Nigerians who have suffered from this attack’s from some Ghanaians.

Nigerian businessman Uba Madu complains that Ghanaians often treat him and other Nigerians as if they are their problems in Ghana. Our major problems here in Ghana are hatred, envy and jealousy, it’s easy for Ghanaians to stereotype Nigerians. I came into this country without anything, but I am a proud owner of over 8 business outlet in this country. When I was pushing cart in this open markets here in Ghana, the Ghanaians like me and happily called for my services, but when God turn my captive around and I am now employer of labour I am their target for hatred. Some officials of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) once walked to one of my outlet and said to me that you Nigerians are the reason why most of our members are out of business, I asked them how? They said because their Ghanaian stores owners prefer to give their stores to foreigners Nigerians and Chinese because we can afford their exorbitant rent unlike the Ghanaians. Is that crime that a country like Ghana should put on Nigerians?

Adewale Atobatele says some Ghanaians here in their capital city refuse to sell him lunch because he doesn’t speak the local language and taxi drivers sound off when they hear his accent.

“They say ‘You are Nigerian. Nigerians are no good, no good. Why don’t you go to your country?’ “You people come to our country and use money to take all our women. There was a day I was attacked by some armed robbers right in front of some Ghanaians, I screamed and shout for help, no one came to my rescue. In my parents’ house in Nigeria, Ghanaian people are in there staying without anyone treating them bad.

A Nigerian was poured acid at Tema Community 4 because he was dating a Ghanaian lady that was impregnated, maltreated and abounded by a Ghanaian barber around. Seyi Akolade is partly blind due to the acid effect on him and the suspect is moving around freely. I won’t say every one of them hate us, but it is like a national agenda for them to just dislike us, we are not all bad people, most us employ their children and even feed some of their less privilege. Ghanaians do not appreciate anything you do for them once you are black, they appreciate and worship the whites even the Asians than their fellow blacks.

I bought 2 acres of lands from a Chief in Ghana and registered the lands at lands in Accra, the next plot owner that happens to be a Ghanaian one day sent land guards to threaten me and workers that if I don’t leave the land, he will kill me because he can’t stay next to Nigerian. I reported his threat to the police and the Chief that sold the land to me, the Chief intervened and asked him to let me be… to my surprised the man told the Chief that he will kill the Chief too for supporting a Nigerian. Adebayo Kasali..

Otunba Moses Igbanla” What do we really enjoy in Ghana? Apart from the constant electricity, nothing else. Even we pay dearly for the electricity, a single room pay between N10, 000 to N25, 000 for electricity usage and if you are sharing meter with Ghanaians, then you are dead.

They have different service charges and fees for Nigerians students, Ghanaians students’ pays in their local current and Nigerian students pays in USD and if Ghanaian pay Ghc 1000 for a program, Nigerians will be made to pay $1000 for that same program.

We even pay higher fees for at the health facilities here, still the general public don’t see our contribution towards the economy of the country.

The way Ghana media report issues that has to do with Nigerians is very BAD, I agree that we have bad eggs among us and that is a fact, Ghanaians too have many of such bad eggs and the problem here in that Ghana media houses do cover their own bad deeds and overplays any news involving Nigerians. There was a news headline some months here, a 15years old Nigerian boy was conscripted into robbery by some 6 Ghanaians age ranges between 45 and 55years, they were arrested and the headline on the state-owned newspaper was “ Nigerian and others arrested for arm robbery” Some of us are aware of the cyber-warfare against Nigeria and Nigerians.

Ghana media is our major problem here, they don’t always do check or investigate any negative news, once it is against Nigerians it’s bestselling for them. The tension between Nigerians and Ghanaians is charged recently due the news media in Accra overplays crime stories involving Nigerians. Multi-media Group hate Nigerians with passion, its lead image destroyers Kojo Yankson and Mamavi Owusu Aboagye are good at it. James at Taifa.

Ghanaians don’t celebrate good people, they only good at spreading lies and negative news about others. “Every country has its weak points,” said Ken Adenle a banker. “You can’t say everyone who is Nigerian is bad. I’m proud to be Nigerian.” Nigerian banks have a strong foothold in Ghana even when 8 Ghanaian bank went down, our banks are still very strong. I was in a discussion with a Ghanaian friend about the depreciation issue presently in Ghana, his responses made me see the hatred for Nigeria. A Ghanaian friend that was a banker and a staff of one of the liquidated banks here in 2018 said that Nigerians are the causes of their currency depreciation because the Nigerian banks always push dollars from Ghana to Nigeria.

It’s the latest chapter of a Hatfield and McCoy-type relationship between these West African states. Hostility in the past escalated to mass deportations. Ghana expelled 100,000 foreigners — mostly Nigerians — in 1969 and Nigeria banished 1.2 million Ghanaians in the 1980s.

This past week, my morning radio habit led me to a convoluted talk show on Ghanaian radio station, 91.3FM that could have easily been mistaken for a call to arms against Nigerians in Ghana. A guest on the program suggested Nigerians are responsible for a significant proportion of crimes committed in Ghana. In response, the host, following a feeble attempt to dissociate himself from this xenophobic sentiment, asked if the government ought not to monitor Nigerians in Ghana more closely, given our implied “criminal tendencies.”

It left me equal parts infuriated, exasperated and saddened at Ghanaian media needlessly inflaming public sentiment every time one misguided Nigerian of over 200 million dispersed around the world, commits a crime. Every. Single. Time.

In 1994 during the occult killings in one of the world’s most prolific, ghoulish serial killers was terrorizing women in the West African country of Ghana. The killer Dr. Ram Beckley a Ghanaian already killed over thirty-fourth (34) victims in what the police believe was a ritualistic murder.

All the victims was women, found stripped from the waist down, with their legs apart. In many cases unused condoms have been scattered around, and some of the women had their genitals mutilated. Sometimes, empty syringes were left at the scene. Close examination of some victims revealed pin pricks where some of their blood had been removed.

Mystery surrounds the identities of the women, some of whom are thought to have been prostitutes. Only a few families have come forward to acknowledge the dead. During period in Ghana, Nigerians were victimized, embarrassed, insulted and humiliated by the Ghanaians and their journalist by attributed the killings and disappearance of these women to hand-work of the Nigerians.

According to General News on Ghanaweb.com of Monday 15th of April 2002, the Ghana police said that “Police on Sunday arrested Dr. Ram Beckley, a Ghanaian and an occultist for abducting two teenage girls, one aged 13 to his residence at New Gbawe on Friday evening. The girls, said to be selling tomatoes were allegedly contacted by Dr. Beckley, who offered to buy all of their wares if they would follow him to his residence in his car.

Dr Kofi Kesse Manfo, the then Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Sunday said the children eventually joined Dr Beckley to his residence.

Dr Manfo said on arrival at the occultist’s residence, he was said to have tied one of the girls to a tree in the house and then dragged the other into a room in the house. He said on Saturday, 13-year old girl, whose name was being withheld for security reasons, heard the noise of a passer-by and shouted for help. According to Dr. Manfo the passer-by, who happened to be an old man entered the house and approached the girl.

He said the old man, who after seeing the girl’s plight untied her from the tree. The Police Commander said after the girl had been set free by the old man, she rewarded him with one thousand cedis for his help. Dr Manfo said the girl then left for home and narrated her and the other girl’s ordeal to her parents.

He said the parents then reported the matter to the police, who later went to Beckley’s house and arrested him. A police search at his residence has however, failed to produce the other girl, who was dragged into one of the rooms of the house. Meanwhile police have mounted a 24-hour guard at Dr. Beckley’s residence to prevent angry youth in the area from attacking and setting the house on fire.

But despite that, latest reports have it that the house has eventually been set on fire by the angry youths and are preventing the Fire Service from reaching the house to quench the fire. Hundreds of people have as the time of writing this story besieged the resident and are stoning police and Fire Service personnel at the site.

Police are still investigating the matter. Dr Beckley, a few years ago came in the news when human parts were found in his residence after which the angry youths in the New Fadama area set his house on fire.”

With the evidence at the disposal of the Ghana Police Service and the general public, no one ever deep it fit to apologize to the Nigerians that were wrongfully accused.

We urge Ghana authority and the law enforcers in that country to do everything possible to protect the lives of well-meaning Nigerians in that country as we shall not accept any attack or killing of our people any part of Africa without retaliating, we are not saying that you should not deal with any Nigerians found guilty of any offenses in your country. – Nigeria Youths Forum.

I think it is time Nigerians should be thinking of coming back home.