By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has reacted to a viral video showing a group of Ghanaians protesting and calling for Nigerians to leave their country over alleged misconduct.
In a statement issued by the commission’s Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the NIDCOM Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, condemned the protest, describing it as an unfair generalisation and a “blanket outrage” against Nigerians living in Ghana.
Dabiri-Erewa said, “Nigerians are not criminals. They are good ambassadors wherever they find themselves while those bad ones should be fished out to face necessary sanctions. Ghana and Nigeria are like siamese twins. They are brothers and in the spirit of ECOWAS and regional integration should continue to live in peace like brothers.”
She urged Nigerians in Ghana to remain calm and avoid provocation or violence, stressing the importance of fostering peaceful coexistence between the two countries as historical allies and ECOWAS members.
Clarifying claims in some circulating videos, she said, “There is no evidence to that, and we must at all cost try to prevent any reprisal attacks.”
She commended the Ghanaian and Nigerian High Commissioners for their efforts in managing the situation and noted that the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has been in touch with Ghanaian authorities, taking proactive steps to address the matter.
Recalls that in 2020, Ghanaian officials sealed off Nigerian shops in Accra for allegedly failing to meet the $1m equity requirement of the Ghana Investment Promotions Council, prompting Nigeria to recall its envoy and threaten to drag Ghana before the ECOWAS Court of Justice.