Notwithstanding the fact that Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, yesterday tendered his country’s apology to President Muhammadu Buhari over the demolition of a building in the premises of the Nigerian High Commission in Accra, Ghana, the House of Representatives described the demolition of building as a direct attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty, calling for appropriate reciprocity.
The Senior Special Assistant to the president, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement, said Akufo-Addo, in a telephone call to the president, said he had directed that the incident should be investigated and the culprits brought to book. According to the statement, information at the presidency’s disposal earlier in the day showed that some suspects had been arrested in connection with the demolition, and would be arraigned in court.
But House Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, who spoke on behalf of the House during an interactive session with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, over the breach of the country’s sovereignty in Ghana, said Nigeria apologies and indemnities are not enough. Gbaja lamented that the situation has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s foreign policy engagements, saying many countries have taken the liberty of hurting Nigerians, while Nigeria looks the other way in the name of brotherhood.
“We all have a responsibility to make sure that we uphold the honour and integrity of the country that we serve. The minister has explained what happened, and what they have done or still doing, but I think we should look at it from the premise that it was the Nigerian state that was attacked, not just a building. 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.”
He added: “So let’s face it. If the American Embassy was demolished, do you think the US will be asking for apologies and indemnity? Or the United Kingdom, Canada or any other Western country, they won’t ask for apology… 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.”
Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Onyema, informed the Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Hon. Yusuf Bubba that diplomatic efforts had gone into resolving the current issue. He also appealed to the lawmakers to sheath their swords, saying Nigeria and Ghana are regional brothers, and that the Ghanaian Government will bear the cost of rebuilding the demolished structure.
Armed men, led by a Ghanaian, last Friday invaded the premises of the Nigerian High Commission in Accra and demolished a residential building, claiming that he owned the land on which it was built.
Consequently, the federal government summoned the top official at the Ghanaian High Commission in Nigeria, Ms Iva Denoo, to explain the rationale behind the attack unleashed on Nigeria in her country.
Reacting to the development, Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had commenced a probe into the incident. “Accordingly, investigations are ongoing to unravel the facts of the matter and bring the perpetrators to book,” the ministry said. The demolition occurred five months after it was rumored that Nigeria’s High Commission in Ghana had been evicted.
