Controversy Unlimited: The Nigerian "Re-invasion" Of Ghana (II)

Calus Von Brazi

This concluding article was first written in September 2005. By popular request it has been rewritten to reflect current realities of Ghana-Nigerian relations. They still come in droves from the east. Whether by air, land or rarely through sea, they always pour in from the eastern coastline and border(s). They have however never done it through their awesome naval armada nor have they flown sorties spearheaded by squadrons of aging Alpha jets and MiG 29 fulcrums. On any given day, one is likely to find a person-laden car having a number plate with 'State Of Lagos' heading towards Accra and beyond from areas adjoining the recently computerized border post at Aflao. Their curiosity about Ghana in general and Accra in particular is fueled by tales of stability and tranquility but more importantly by the relatively lower levels of crime and the upholding of personal security by the good people of Ghana and the security apparatus of state. Some have even cited the "Ghanaianization" of high profile Nigerians who have taken up residence in Accra’s sprawling suburbs including my good friend Chief Dele Momodu, publisher and editor-in-chief of Ovation group of papers, the managers of Coca Cola, Intercontinental, Zenith, UBA and Amal Banks among other financial institutions stretching from energy insurance to commodities distributors. For this group of Nigerians, insofar as the likes of Dele Momodu, unofficial ambassador extraordinaire and plenipotentiary for West Africa find it more convenient and safer to reside in Accra, there certainly must be wisdom in setting up shop in Ghana. After all, is the entire Ghanaian establishment not pontificating globally about Ghana being the gateway to West Africa, even if Nigeria remains the final destination?

Pull Factors

Any casual visitor to places like the plush La Palm Royal Beach Hotel on a typical weekend is likely to think him or herself in Abeokuta, simply because of the heavy accented outbursts of jokes and laughter delivered with such passion in the Yoruba language. With such auspicious atmospheres of jollity, jocundity and joviality, our Nigerian brethren inspire awe in some and disdain in others, for they seem to know no limit in flaunting their wealth. Take it or leave it, these ‘invaders’ from the east know how to live and rightly so: they can only risk such luxuries in their own country if their personal security can match the firepower of those who make Ghana’s armed robbers resemble breakaway factions of Baiden Powell’s Boy’s Scouts. Without fear of any contradiction, all these ‘invaders’ reiterate the peaceful nature of Ghana and how "free" they feel here. For them, the fact that they can move about without let or hindrance when a party ends in the early hours of the morning is a major plus, for even in the high class areas of Lagos, the most daring of brave hearts is more likely to wait till broad daylight before venturing homeward at the end of such social gatherings. Movement although free, is free at the peril of one’s own bravado! Even my Lebanese friends have started complaining. On the fringes of social activities, some of my Druze and Alawi friends originally from the Land of Cedars have intimated to me how their favourite pastime at the baccarat tables has been invaded by ‘aliens’ whose accent readily gives them away as non-Ghanaians. Interestingly enough, these Ghanaians, who are in fact second and third generation descendants of Lebanese citizens quickly switch to twi and ga when they want to "do their own things" in the presence of these Nigerian ‘invaders’. As for our own Ghanaian kith and kin, they would rather make do with the win-win Department of National Lotteries although they would gladly sip at some South African wine while their Lebanese and Nigerian pals make "money swine". Globalization is marching unbridled even in the quietness of Accra’s growing number of casinos, what with very little Ghanaian products making it into the bellies of heavy spenders, their wealth of which dubious origins there is no difficulty in fathoming.

Not every institutional head in Ghana however has serious complaints about this eastern ‘invasion’. Some find their presence here a real eye opener and a blessing in disguise considering the contribution their visits make to both the recorded and underground economy. A typical example is the prominent chief of the Ashantis who enjoys visits from these “easterners”, especially when they grace his ceremonies ceremonially. There are others, like former Tourism Minister Obetsebi-Lamptey who look more at the positive side of the “Nigerian invasion” and retort "why not? Let them come here and enjoy our hotels and cuisine…would you rather they go to Paris with their foreign exchange?" One cannot fault such positions for any random check at our ports of entry, especially the Kotoka International Airport would reveal that the numbers of Nigerians who flock into Accra on Friday and leave Monday morning are increasing by the week. Just like the Greeks and Turks who fly into both sides of the island of Cyprus each weekend, such visitors point to the similarities in culture, the understanding and affable nature of Ghanaians, our commendable levels of tolerance and negligible display of xenophobia, unless of course, some Nigerian tycoon has found it viable to chase after the apple of some young minister’s eye. These ‘weekend Nigerians’ assert that they can find eba in most parts of Ghana without sweat, wash the meal down with some cold Gulder, belch their way to Aphrodisiac nite club at night and fly back to Lagos or Abuja all under $1000, something that is impossible should they choose to sample the delights of increasingly xenophobic Paris. Destination Ghana then, is the place to be for most Nigerians of some wealthy standing. The politically savvy among them like rice mogul Chief Aliko Dankote even tell you "this is what ECOWAS is all about". Ghana indeed does have an allure that is irresistible to most ‘Ecowians’!

Downsides

The above paints a rather rosy picture of well-behaved heavy spenders of Nigerian origin, visiting another sister African nation out of close cultural affinity, political stability, a warm and friendly people and guaranteed personal security. However, some concerns have been raised by well-meaning Ghanaians about some of the activities of our eastern ‘invaders’. These concerns range from the very subtle cross-cultural fertilization of expressions to the blatant criminal activities that dent the image of the Republic of Ghana. A few examples may suffice to buttress these points. There is no need to recount in full detail, what the former managing director of Amal Bank almost succeeded in doing to the Ghanaian economy, did to his own reputation, saddled his very political High Commissioner with and foisted on confidence within the banking sector and Nigerian run banks in Ghana in general. Even the uninitiated would not fail to recognize the introduction of ‘alien’ cultural norms and mores into the Ghanaian body-politic, including the rather anti-Christian copying of socially deviant attributes of Nigerian social life when juxtaposed against the backdrop of Ghanaian culture in the same sphere. If in doubt, just take a look at that the legion of Nigerian movies being showed with such unrestrained alacrity by our TV stations. Personally, I desist from watching those movies partly because of ancestral reasons; I have a rather fair idea of what the ‘eastern mindset’ is. If truth be told however, I partly deliberately refuse to watch those movies precisely because they insult my intelligence and that is even putting it very mildly.

But if a ‘cultural invasion’ is becoming part of Ghanaian-Nigerian relations, then far more worrying is the influx of myriads of high-tech confidence tricksters commonly referred to as 419ers. These people whose base of operations are the mushrooming internet cafes of Accra and elsewhere expose the weaknesses in our crime-busting agencies while making Ghana acquire the trappings of a dangerous gateway to West Africa. My most chilling experience was the discovery of an indenture and contract documents signed by a very senior judge of our superior courts of judicature complete with all the legal seals of Ghana’s legal system prepared under ten minutes right before my very eyes in an internet café here in Accra. The revamped visa fraud and cyber crime unit of the CID headquarters of the Ghana Police Service with oversight responsibility for these kinds of crimes would do well to deploy plain clothes policemen and women to monitor the internet cafes. The harvest there is truly plentiful and I hate to think the workers are few. Not all operators of the internet cafes are patriotic enough to report the activities of these deviants especially because they benefit financially if a ‘deal’ goes through or as they are wont to say "why make I report to police? They go take bribe and tell the anago guy say me wey I chook am. When they finish, they go release am wey the guy go come do me gidigidi and kill me sef"! With such fears being expressed, is it any wonder that volunteering of information of such occurrences is low? So are we surprised that it has become impossible for Ghanaians to purchase items online with their own legitimate credit and debit cards? It must trouble our security and financial institutions that as soon as domain verification shows that a transaction is emanating from Ghana, the first response is “we are sorry this transaction cannot be completed from your current location”! Much as one would have loved to give an ovation in support of the ovation well-meaning Nigerians give to Ghana where tourism is concerned, the extent to which our national psyche is being affected by these activities prevents one from joining in the praise-singing chorus. I would offer a free tip to our security agencies as to why there has been an unprecedented increase in demand for Ghanaian passports by people with northern sounding names: this quest for passports, contrary to popular belief is NOT (emphasis mine) to facilitate easy travel as many are inclined to believe. After all how many Ghanaian applications are not rejected by the equally confused entry clearance officers in the foreign missions here in Ghana on a daily basis? The real reason for such applications for Ghanaian passports is for the facilitation of monetary transactions, specifically to authenticate the nationality of recipients so as to withdraw very huge sums sent through banks, money transfer agencies and subsidiaries of companies owned by greedy Caucasians seeking to make a quick buck from people their own media has portrayed as wallowing in the doldrums of endemic poverty. When 419ers descend unto Accra, they have one main purpose: to withdraw funds sent from far-flung places across the globe. Given that Nigeria has been tacitly and in some cases openly blacklisted as a place to do certain types of business ostensibly due to the 419 scourge, perpetrators of confidence trickery have found a ‘safe haven’ in Ghana and insofar as easy money is wired to Accra for their nefarious purposes, what better way to enjoy the largesse than by having a Ghanaian passport, fake or genuine, to be produced for the collection of easy money?

If the above is distressing, then the re-engineering of our gateway concept into the latest transit point and exit for drug smuggling should raise our national alarm signals to “code red” levels. Whereas Ghanaians in the past dealt with relatively minor offences like attempts at concealing narijuana in luggage for onward delivery to western capitals, today thanks to new configurations of ‘friendships’ and the ‘hosting’ of eastern ‘invaders’ in some plush houses around Haatso, the Westlands, Tantra and East Airport, Ghanaians have become adept at ferrying thai white grade cocaine with relative ease and exceptional bravado. Some have perfected the art of wrapping such substances to avoid detection while others train to imbibe these substances in the alimentary canal for hours on end behind palatial and gilded gates in the aforementioned areas and beyond. I am quite certain that this is not the sort of gainful employment envisaged by the apostles of social democracy who now stride the corridors of political power in the Republic of Ghana.

Challenges

Notwithstanding the fact that more sinister examples abound regarding the negative aspects of the Nigerian ‘invasion’, despite well known institutional constraints and irrespective of the continuously changing modus operandi of the deviant elements among an otherwise pleasant group of legal aliens, it is incumbent upon all Ghanaians to make concerted efforts at putting a complete stop to this denigration and desecration of our image if not reducing such acts to the barest minimum. One such measure as far as the passport issue is concerned is to go the Malawian way whereby an applicant’s genealogy is traced to at least three generations before a passport is issued. One is well aware of the poor record keeping skills of Ghanaians but is it not possible to find some measures to suit our peculiar circumstances in the light of these image-denting developments if we put our collective energies to it? What stops our government through its security agencies from putting in real rewards for informants attractive enough to induce people to sing compared to what the criminal elements among these deviants offer when the noose begins to tighten around their 22 carat gold chain-laden necks? To what extent are we as a country, updating the skills needed to match and catch those whose adeptness with the information superhighway and technology allows them to use Ghanaian registered protocol addresses to unleash unsavory remarks about our beloved country? Perhaps, the new recruitments being envisaged and quietly implemented into the security services must take real cognizance of these realities to help check the Nigerian ‘re-invasion’ of Ghana even if their collaborators here would scream wolf claiming the age old dull excuse of xenophobia when all we are doing is saving the integrity of the Land of Our Death. Jehovah Rohi be our shepherd in these challenging times!