Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has classified the purported maltreatment of Nigerians in Ghana as xenophobia.
Several men on Wednesday believed to be members of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) clad in red bands attacked a shop belonging to a Nigerian trader, destroying items in the shop, burning car tyres and chanting war songs.
The Ghanaian traders argued that they were only enforcing the laws of Ghana which bar foreigners from engaging in the retail sub-sector.
The police in Ashanti region, however, urged Nigerian shop owners in Suame to open their shops on Thursday for business with an assurance of full police protection.
In an interview published late Wednesday on social media, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa warned that the ill-treatment of Nigerians in Ghana could adversely affect the relationship between the two countries.
“What you are doing actually is xenophobia,” she told her Ghanaian interviewer.
“And I’m telling you it will not augur well for Africa. We shouldn’t go back to the dark days. We should look at working together and building our continent. What you are doing is xenophobia and I tell you remember in South Africa it affected everybody, even Ghana. So if you want to go back to those days it’s a sad commentary for Africa,” Dabiri-Erewa said.
