Are Nigerians Safe In Ghana?

I am too apt not to jump into conclusion on any event that stares me in the face without thoroughfully investigating the reason behind it. In fact, I am not one of those people who usually takes everything thrown at them both hook and sinker. I do not take things on face value. I do normally read true meaning to everything before I makes my own judgement or come into conclusions. Thus when I saw the following articles that screams: "This NDC "Ashantiphobia" Nonsense Should Stop Now" Feature Article of Saturday, 16 February 2013, by Sarpong Justice.

I said whao! whao! In the article, he explained how the ruling NDC party leaders are spearheading what he called "Ashantiphobia" in Ghana. Hear him: "What is this "Ashantiphobia" nonsense going on in Ghana spearheaded by the NDC Leaders?" Sarpong Justice. According to him, Ashantis are being marginalised by the ruling NDC party.

Naijaphobia:

My question is this, if the Ashantis, (who are one of the largest ethnic tribes in Ghana), could feel the pain of what Sarpong described as "Ashantiphobia" in their own country Ghana, then how do we emphathise with the innocent and honest Nigerians who are being vilified daily and suffering in silence with what I called "Naijaphobia" at the hands of their hostile Ghanaians hosts? Yes I really mean the word "Naijaphobia" going on in Ghana, where everything and anything that goes wrong in Ghana is being blame on Nigerians. If their president had a headache, it is the fault of Nigerians. If there was no rain in Ghana for a while, it might be one of Nigerians 'jujus' that must be the culprit. In fact, Ghanaians even blame the death of their ex-president Atta Mills, on a Nigerian Pastor TB Joshua. Haba Ghana people! This is twenty first centuries for God's sale. Contrast that to when, we lost our own ex-presisent Shehu Yaa Adua, in Nigeria I do not see any right thinking Nigerian blaming anyone for his death.

Some Ghanaians are so gullible and ignorant to the extent that they blame any act of armed robbery in Ghana on Nigerians. They even had it in their hollow minds that there has 'never' been any incidence of armed robbery in Ghana, before Nigerians set their foot on their eldorado Ghana soil. Can you beat that? Are Ghanaians saints? If that is not "Naijaphobic" I don't know what is. Don't get me wrong, I am not here to hold brief for any tom, dick and harry Nigerians living in Ghana or in diasporal, particularly the 'criminally minded imbeciles' tarnishing the image of Nigeria all over the world. No, that is not the reason why I am here. In fact, I strongly expects the law of their respective host countries, including Ghana, to deal ruthlessly with those criminals, no matter how highly place they may be. As far as I'm concerned, there should be ZERO tolerance to criminality, period! But what I strongly objected to was this attidudes of some Ghanaians painting all Nigerians with same 'dirty' brush. That is a total No! No!! No!!! Not all Nigerians are criminals, neither all Ghanains are saints. (By the way I do not have any family or relative living in Ghana), therefore, my writing is purely on personal observations and my horrible experience on ghanaweb.com, the breeding ground of Ghanaians xenophobia and intolerance to their fellow Africans, mostly Nigerians.

Scapegoat:

That brings me to the second feature Article of Saturday, 16 February 2013 by Adu, Joseph Ampomah, with headline: "Are Ashantis Safe In Ghana?" According to him, anyone bearing Akan name who misbehaves is regarded as Ashantis, hence him being feeling 'insecured' in his own country just for being an Ashanti man. Hear him: "This is wrong as any person with Akan’s name who misbehaves is regarded as Ashanti."Joseph Ampomah Oh I see! So if the Ashantis could feel the pain of being the 'scapegoats' of the sins of their fellow Akans, for just being Ashantis, how then do they expects innocent and honest Nigerians to bear the blame or suffer in the place of a few criminally minded Nigerians? Now that the boot was in the other foot, Ashantis and other Ghanaians should thing twice before 'lumping' all Nigerians in the same box as criminals.

As for those xenophobic Ghanaians who are fond of spewing all sort of negativities against Nigerians, i.e. calling dog a bad name, just to hang it; they should realise that mama Africa belongs to all of us, from Cape to Cairo and from Congo to Mozambique. If the Lebanese, Indians, Arabs and Obronis, and the latest arrivals, Chinese, could live peacefully in Ghana without harassment, I do not see any reason why Nigerians should not be free to live in Ghana, or anywhere in mama Africa, peacefully without looking behind their shoulders.

Tony, Wisdom

A pan-Africanist writing from London