There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigerian citizens in
Ghana are concerned about their image and the kind of attention they are
getting in the media and popular spots (newspapers stands, pubs, etc). It has
been a panoply of reactions depending on the sentiments and camp the
discussants or interlocutors belong; mostly divided into three: pro, anti and
the indifferent. Sometimes, the exchanges can be fierce but most always ended
with some concerns for our shared ‘brotherhood’. That pan-African spirit, the
‘we are brothers’ sentiment as envisioned by the likes of Kwame Nkrumah,
despite some glaring and despicable acts signaling the opposite, is what still keep
us together. Indeed, Nigerians and
Ghanaians cannot afford to go through the road once travelled before: the 1969
‘Nigeria Must Go’ and the 1983 ‘Ghanaian must Go’ options. We have come too
far, closely knitted, wiser and the brotherhood is stronger now, than then; and
technology is far more advanced too.
Pan-Africanism as a concept seeks to promote oneness or unity
of peoples of African descent premised on the assumption that we have common
interests and should be united in attaining these myriads of interests for the
sake of Africa. As a movement, pan-Africanism encourages the solidarity of
Africans (and peoples of African descent) globally based on the belief that
unity is vital to economic, social and political advancement of Africa and
empowerment of the African race. These two views of pan-Africanism, as an
ideology and as a movement, represent the core elements of the social capital
values attached to the concept. In the present state of the Nigeria-Ghana
relation, the ideological part holds sway. My motivation for penning this is to
appeal to the ‘movement’ subconscious of Ghanaians and Nigerians.
Unfortunately, the movement has to rest on the ideology to succeed; how long
the parties in focus can hold on is what I can neither specifically say nor
ignore, hence I have to speculate futuristically lest we allow crude xenophobic
interchanges.
The fact, as it unfolds daily, is that some Nigerians are
undocumented and are involved in crimes in Ghanaian towns and cities. The two
variables, undocumented and crime, are enemies of thriving societies, anywhere
in the world. Migration is a fact humans have to live with since the
‘hunter-gatherer’ period, moving from one place to another is therefore
expected within and between countries. Deviancy is also expected to lead many
into crime world. But where documentation exists, then curtailing crimes and
population of the undocumented becomes easy. What I have realized is that in
migration related crimes, the undocumented are often the key actors because
they are faceless. This explains the constant clampdown on illegal immigrants
in the west, and in some African countries. The undocumented persons anywhere
are faceless beings, who often leverage on their facelessness and greed to
perpetuate criminal activities.
Sadly, the 21st century technological advancements
do not tolerate faceless population. In fact, their values are hidden to national
statistical indices (treasure or burden) thereby making national planning
difficult. News items such as ‘’Canada needs new One million Immigrants by
2021’’ capture the place of planning with the population; hence, why should
Ghanaian government be inhibited by some undocumented Nigerians in carrying out
its statutory role? The crux of my point here is that the onus rests on the Ghanaian
authorities to handle immigration and undocumented immigrants matters relating
to Nigeria in such a way that we shall not be returning to 1969 ‘Golgotha’. In
the spirit of pan-Africanism, a registration measure can be introduced with
incentives; homeowners (like hotel owners) could be mandated to either report
everyone living in their houses or face penalties, Nigerian High Commission and
interest groups can be involved in this; like, I said, in the spirit of
pan-Africanism.
Again, it is time Nigerian and Ghanaian authorities review
their ‘Retail Business’ Acts. It should be reciprocal, in the spirit of
brotherhood. EU states have similar reviewed regulations, we can learn from
them. It is laughable that some could conclude that what happened in Suame (in Kumasi,
the capital of the Ashanti Region) is mere ‘traders helping government to
enforce trade law’, far from it. It is a mix grill of enforcement and jealousy.
I have watched the news clip several times and also the interactions at play
while the attacks were on, it is obviously not entirely altruistic. The
problems with condoning such attacks, “on behalf of the government” is that
someday, these persons will take law
into their hand and kill “in the name of government”. That is against the
tenets of pan-Africanism; brothers cannot be killing brothers without
backlashes or familial repercussions. Hence, it wont be out of place for me to
be unequivocal in condemning the security for not checkmating the attack. Such
brazen crowd aggrandisement and display of lethal attacks is not good for our
image as Africans (especially to Ghana). We must learn to accommodate and
correct ourselves while exposing those dealing in fake goods; I am cocksure
those Nigerians accused of dealing in fake products have Ghanaian accomplices,
both the Nigerians and their Ghanaian accomplices are criminals. Expose and let
them be tried in competent court for the sake of general wellbeing; and like I
said, it should be in the spirit of pan-Africanism.
Finally, in the spirit of pan-Africanism, I want to specially
appreciate those who have taking measures to douse the tension by reiterating
our common ancestry as Africans and were frontal and objective in their
analysis; those who took sides too, like Professor Austin Nwagbara (although he
claimed the video was doctored), you have done no wrong but surrendered to
emotion. Let me end this piece in honor of my late teacher, Mr Kudjoe. Mr
Kudjoe lived in Nigeria in the 80s, he was a wonderful man. His younger
brother, Kwame, who lived with him, at the time, was a known pilferer in our
area. But each time he was caught and reported to his brother, our beloved Mr
Kudjoe, his brother, will apologized and recite his popular line: “thank you
for the respect you have for me, definitely all Ghanaians are not thieves, and
are not all teachers, we have people like my brother (Kwame) and people like
me”. Today, I understand Mr Kudjoe’s message better. Obviously, all Nigerians
are not criminals and all Ghanaians are not saints; the Ghanaian media
practitioners should note this vital submission in the spirit of
pan-Africanism!
Adeyemi Ademowo is an AHP/ACLS postdoctoral fellow-in-residence
at the International Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Ghana, Legon
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