Nigeria-Ghana deportation tension eases after Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu visits Accra. Minister urges calm, says viral videos misrepresented real situation
Nigeria-Ghana Deportation Tension appears to be easing after a diplomatic visit by Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who urged calm amid social media calls for Nigerians to be deported from Ghana.
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Speaking at a joint press conference in Accra alongside Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Ablakwa, Odumegwu-Ojukwu explained that her mission was to assess the situation firsthand on behalf of President Bola Tinubu.
“We are here on a fact-finding mission as special envoy of President Bola Tinubu due to recent disturbances that made the rounds in Nigeria,” she said.
Despite alarming viral videos, Odumegwu-Ojukwu reported that conditions in Ghana were stable. “Since we arrived, I haven’t seen people burning tyres or holding placards calling for Nigerians to be deported,” she noted.
She praised the Ghanaian government’s swift response and called for greater bilateral engagement, including the institutionalisation of the Nigeria-Ghana Joint Commission to deepen cooperation and prevent diplomatic strains.
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ablakwa assured that all residents, citizens and non-citizens alike, would be protected, while urging restraint and law-abiding conduct from everyone.
He clarified that the viral videos did not accurately represent the situation and debunked claims that a Nigerian citizen attempted to form a “kingdom” in Ghana, stressing that territorial motives were misinterpreted.
Ablakwa invoked past diplomatic crises including Ghana’s Aliens Repatriation Order and Nigeria’s 1983 “Ghana Must Go” episode as cautionary tales.
“We must manage our relations with care to avoid repeating history,” he emphasized.
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The Nigeria-Ghana deportation tension may now be settling, thanks to diplomatic efforts, but both nations are being urged to tread with mutual respect and vigilance.
