The house of representatives says Nigeria must
reciprocate the attack on the country’s high commission in Ghana which it said
was becoming a sad trend.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of
the house, said showing “diplomatic maturity” by merely demanding an apology
will not address the issue.
Armed men had demolished the staff
quarters of the high commission which is still under construction.
A Ghanaian monarch later claimed the plot of land where the
structure is located belongs to his community and that it is being forcibly
taken away from them.
When Geoffrey Onyema, minister of foreign affairs, appeared
before the house committee on foreign affairs on Tuesday, the speaker said some
African countries have attacked the Nigerian state while the country looks the
other way in the name of “brotherhood”.
He said: “Reciprocity is a legitimate instrument in foreign
policy. And we can employ it, because if such had happened here in Nigeria, the
individual will first approach the court to enforce his rights, and I want to
believe that Ghana is a democratic country where laws apply, but this person
didn’t use the law to do this. So it’s purely a predetermined attack on the
Nigerian state
“In terms of visibility and otherwise of the property, I
want to say that it is trite to understand that all countries exist through
their embassies in other countries.
“So for that reason, Nigeria was attacked by Ghana, because
if anything happens in Ghana, it’s the Nigerian high commission that Nigerians
will run to and get protection due to the diplomatic immunity that it enjoys.
”Others may say that this is a sibling rivalry that is going
on between Nigeria and Ghana, and we did nothing, but we must take a stand,
because this has gone beyond court processes as the minister said.
“This diminishes Nigeria as a state because it’s not a land
dispute between Nigeria and any individual, but a diplomatic dispute between
Nigeria and Ghana, which should be handled accordingly, because the person who
did this did it under the colour of their law.
“South Africa did it, we kept quiet; Ghana has done it, and
still, we are not doing anything, but we want to show diplomatic maturity of
asking for apology and claim damages. If this had happened to the British high
commission in Ghana, all hell would have been let loose. I’m telling you this
as a matter of fact.”
Onyema earlier called for calm over the demolition, saying
talks are in progress to resolve the matter.
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