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President John Dramani Mahama has moved swiftly to calm growing tensions between Ghana and Nigeria, assuring that there will be no mass deportations of Nigerian nationals residing in Ghana. His remarks came during a high-level diplomatic meeting with Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who was dispatched as a special envoy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to seek clarity amid escalating fears in Nigeria.
The anxiety was triggered by the resurfacing of a 2013 video showing a self-styled “Igbo king” in Ghana making controversial remarks about acquiring land for a kingdom—footage that has recently gone viral and been misinterpreted as a current development. The video stirred public debate and fuelled concerns of xenophobia and forced expulsions.
President Mahama, however, dismissed the renewed controversy as “a bit of a storm in a teacup,” firmly asserting that Ghanaian law strictly governs the creation and recognition of traditional councils. He emphasised that no foreign entity or individual can unilaterally establish such a structure within Ghana’s sovereign space.
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“We have legal frameworks that regulate chieftaincy in Ghana, and so this claim—though unfortunate—does not carry any legal weight under our system,” Mahama said.
In addressing the broader concerns raised by Nigeria, President Mahama offered heartfelt reassurances: “There will be no mass deportations. Ghana has no such plans. Our two countries are siblings of the same parents. Our destinies are joined together.”
He underscored Ghana’s firm commitment to the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, which allows citizens of member states to travel, reside, and work freely across borders.
Drawing on history, Mahama referenced the painful memories of mass deportations that occurred in both countries in past decades—Ghana’s Aliens Compliance Order of 1969 and Nigeria’s expulsion of West African migrants, including Ghanaians, in the early 1980s. “That is part of our past,” he said. “And it’s an unfortunate past that we want to put behind us. No country should mass deport citizens of another again.”
While acknowledging that some individuals—regardless of nationality—may be involved in criminal activities, the president clarified that these matters are being dealt with through legal channels. “We do not engage in collective punishment,” he stated. “Every individual is accountable for his or her own actions under the law.”
In response, Minister Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed the Nigerian government’s appreciation for the clarity and the warm diplomatic posture of the Ghanaian leader. She admitted that the viral video and subsequent rumours had caused widespread anxiety, prompting emergency parliamentary sessions in Nigeria and calls by traditional leaders for their kin in Ghana to return home.
“There was a lot of fear before we arrived,” she said. “But what we have seen in Ghana has proven otherwise. President Mahama’s words and assurances have gone a long way to defuse the tension.”
She thanked the Ghanaian authorities for maintaining peace and pledged Nigeria’s continued commitment to bilateral dialogue and sub-regional integration through ECOWAS.
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