Nigerian traders in Ghana cry out

Nigerian traders in Ghana have urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to stop the harassment of Nigerians by Ghanaian authorities.

This appeal was made by Chukwuemeka Nnaji, President of the Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) via a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.

Nnaji’s statement came in the wake of the recent arrest of 500 Nigerians in Bolga, in Upper West region of Ghana.

According to him, the Nigerians were arrested by Ghanaian immigration and moved to the Aflao border without proper investigation to ascertain how they got to that country.

“This is not acceptable; we accord respect to the Ghanaian authorities but sometimes they do not reciprocate.

“Those people were victims of a Ghana-based company “Q-Net” with collaborators in Nigeria who deceive people by telling them that there is employment in Ghana and that the job will pay $250 a week.

READ ALSO: Gunmen reportedly abduct 15 traders in Katsina

“They collect between 400 and 500 cedes from them and then they get nothing.

“Nobody knows how they do it, but they smuggle in people from Nigeria to Ghana.

“Unsuspecting Nigerians come to Ghana and they become stranded.

“Government needs to take urgent measures,” Nnaji said.

Due to the constant harassment of Nigerian traders by the Ghanaian authorities, the FG in 2020 stated that it will not hesitate to bring back its traders from Ghana if that will bring a lasting solution over the protracted business row.

Gabriel Odu of NIDCOM’s Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit, had quoted the commission’s DG, Abike Dabiri-Erewa expressing willingness to bring Nigerians back home.

She, however, called for peace, stressing that all relevant stakeholders would be engaged to find a lasting solution.

By Mayowa Oladeji…

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