Dele Momodu, journalist and former presidential candidate,
says he will give palliatives to Nigerian traders whose shops were locked up in
Ghana.
NigerianEye had reported how Nigerian traders in Ghana cried
out over the closure of their shops.
Chukwuemeka Nnaji, president of the Nigerian Traders Union
in Ghana, had said the shops were locked up by Ghanaian authorities who
demanded evidence of their Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC)
registration.
The requirement for GIPC registration is $1 million minimum
foreign equity, while registration fee is 31,500 cedis.
The Ghanaian authorities defended the action, saying the
traders refused to meet up with the deadline granted for proper documentation.
Reacting in a statement on Wednesday, Momodu, a media mogul,
said the development betrays the efforts made by the late Kwame Nkrumah, former
president of Ghana and notable pan-Africanist.
He said both countries ought to have compassion for each
other, adding that Nigeria would not have meted out such treatment to
Ghanaians.
Momodu said the fee attached to the GIPC for Nigerians would
have been tagged as discriminatory if demanded by a European country against an
African counterpart.
“I note with sadness the viral videos of Nigerian investors
being flogged and thrown out of their shops in Ghana. As an avowed
pan-Africanist and a fanatical disciple of former Ghanaian President, Dr Kwame
Nkrumah, I have become traumatized about the future of Africa. The Osagyefo
must be seething with anger and rage in his grave, if he could see how Africans
are treating themselves at this time and age,” he said.
“Just imagine that this is coming at a momentous period when
the world is campaigning that BLACK LIVES MATTER, but Nigerians are being
kicked around like football by our closest Brothers and friends. And what is
the excuse for this act? An incredibly brutal “Law” which stipulates that
foreign small-scale traders must invest $1 million in the Ghanaian economy. How
many companies in the world started business with such a stupendous amount?
“If the Europeans and Americans had promulgated such Laws
against Nigerians and Ghanaians living abroad, many of us would have accused
them of racism and discrimination. What is worse, some of these traders
actually have their valid papers and registered long before the coming of this
atrocious requirement by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, but the Law
enforcers blatantly refused to listen to the cries of these hardworking but
hapless traders.
“Another excuse is that they claimed Nigeria shut its
borders against neighboring countries. While I agree that the decision to shut
our borders is regrettable, this has nothing to do with Ghana. No Ghanaian has
been asked not to do business in Nigeria. No Ghanaian has been asked to invest
any compulsory amount of money before setting up shops in Nigeria.”
Momodu said he has consistently promoted Ghana and stood up
for the interest of its citizens in the past 25 years.
He cited a personal instance where he intervened and called
for support against the demolition of a property belonging to a Ghanaian couple
in Ogun state.
The media mogul said he already got the details of the
Nigerian traders affected by the development, and that he would offer them
financial assistance.
“I once intervened on behalf of a Ghanaian couple when their
factory was going to be demolished amongst some illegal structures in Agbara
Estate. I had to call the then Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel,
who exempted the Ghanaians on the compassionate grounds that they were Ghanaian
investors in Nigeria,” he said.
“My personal love for Ghana, and respect for Ghanaians, has
never been in doubt. I have been the Chief Promoter of Ghana to the world in
the past 25 years.
“I’m saddened that all our efforts of those days are about
to be wasted by this latest imbroglio.
“I have reached out, and obtained the full names and phone
contacts of the Nigerian traders mostly affected by this unfortunate and
unnecessary incidents. Each of them will receive my humble widow’s mite, with
no strings attached and no political motives whatsoever. My motivation is just
the fact that we should be our Brother’s keepers at all times. I implore men
and women of good conscience to stand up and intervene speedily in this
matter.”
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