For some years now, the situation of Nigerian traders living in Ghana could be likened to a mnemonic for the title of one of the late Chinua Achebe’s novels; No longer at ease. On Monday, October 28, 2013; many Nigerian traders were summond to an emergency meeting in the ancient Ghanaian city of Kumasi.
In the same vein, dozens of Nigerian traders, who are members of the Nigerian Union of Traders in Ghana (NUTAG), the umbrella body for Nigerian traders in the former Gold Coast; also had cause to gather at a hotel in the Dansoman neighbourhood of the Ghanaian capital, Accra on Thursday, October 24, 2013.
At either conference, their meeting dragged for about three hours as NUTAG members pondered their situation. Apart from NUTAG National President, Deacon John Igwe Ukala; and, National Vice President, Hon. Joseph Obi; others at the October 24 summit; included Tamale Chapter Chairman, Sir Hycinth Nwoko; Eastern Region Chairman, Sir Linus Okoroigwe; NUTAG PRO, Chief Ikechukwu Obiora; and, Tema Chapter Chairman, Sir Kingsley Eboh.
The importance of their sitting could be gleaned from the fact that, apart from those who happened to be out of town on that day, every other NUTAG executive member was in attendance. Furthermore, many of these merchants were sighted at Nigerian High Commission Accra on Wednesday, October 23.
Reliable sources revealed these Nigerians came to brief their country’s diplomatic mission of their predicament as well as to find out what what being done at the governments’ level to resolve an issue that has lingered for some six years. In many instances, Nigerian traders did not just have to be absent at their malls, some had to travel over hundreds of kilometres from regional capitals to venues, where meeting had been called.
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In other words, aside from losing money from not opening their shops for business, money was also lost to commuting, not to talk of stress from long distance shuttles. No pun intended, but it has come to the point, where some of these merchants seem more preoccupied with holding meetings than attending to customers.
“My brother, life has not been easy here for some years. We have become victims of serial harassment and with this matter dragging for about six years, some of us are beginning to wonder, if ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) has any meaning. But, we have to keep trying”, was the lament of a Nigerian merchant resident in Ghana.
But, the man was not through. Hear his cynical rue: “Interestingly, this latest attempt to intimidate us is coming a few days to the opening of ECOWAS 7th Trade Fair. Some people say we should not trade, but do you know the theme of this year’s ECOWAS expo in Ghana? It is “Regional integration through trade”… My brother, I no fit laugh; he concluded in pidgin English.
According to the NUTAG National VP, a section of indigenous retailers had earlier concluded plans for a demonstration against Nigerian traders in Kumasi on Friday, October 25. Although the rally was called off, possibly due to bureaucratic intervention; the anti-Nigerian traders’ issue again surged to the fore, barely 48 hours later, when; during a television presentation, spokeswoman of a section of the indigenous traders’ body declared that Nigerian traders in Kumasi should close shop by November 15.
By some coincidence, Travels was in Kumasi for a tour of select tourist sites, and chose to seize the opportunity to engage some affected Nigerians. Chief Elieza Obodoekwe, Vice President of NUTAG in Asante Region, is one of the three NUTAG executives Travels spoke with in Ghana. Igbo Ukwu, Anambra State-born Chief Obodoekwe is fondly addressed by his traditional title, Onwa.
Although Onwa admitted he missed the television presentation, he said the threat must have been aired because countless members called him to ask what NUTAG leadership planned to do. Hear him: “According to a TV3 presentation about 9pm on Sunday, October 26, 2013; Madam Joanah of Joanah Motors demanded that Nigerians should close shop. She even issued a November 15 ultimatum”.
But, what could the woman’s reason be? “Her argument is that Nigerians are making profit that should ordinarily go to indigenes. According to her, foreigners are barred from engaging in retail trade. However, whereas foreigners are not allowed to do retail-trading inside a market, the law permits us to operate from our shops in other areas of town”, Onwa explained.
Onwa went on to recall: “Early this year, around January, many Nigerian-owned shops across Accra were locked up. The Ghanaian Government subsequently gave certain conditions before traders could have their shops reopened. These conditions included compulsory registration of each company and that the company should also have a certificate to commence business.
“Also, each company must be registered with the office in charge of VAT; register with IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and have TIN (Tax Identification Number); apart from registration with SSNIT. Additionally, certain conpanies are also required to register with Ghana Investment and Promotions Council (GIPC).
“In my own case, my company, Best Quality Parts Ltd; has fulfilled every requirement. Then, there is the issue of every foreigner living in Ghana now required to have a Residency Permit, and Non-Citizen ID. I have all of these and my business is legitimate. So, it is therefore surprising that non-government officials could be harassing us.
“I don’t think these antagonists have taken the trouble to go to relevant authorities to find out, if our operations are legitimate or not. But, I’m very sad because of the anxiety these anti-Nigerian elements generate through their frequent agitations”.
In this Nigerian’s thinking, head or tail, Ghanaians also stand to lose: “There are well over 40 Nigerian-owned shops in Asante Region. If only three Ghanaians are employed at each shop, we are talking of about 120 Ghanaians that would be out of business, should we leave town. Yes, if we have to shut down our business, that means we have no business being here. In other words, our antagonists want us to leave town”, Onwa reckoned.
The major grouse is that some Nigerians are involved in retail trade, however there are many other Nigerians that are not into retailing business but are similarly affected by the perceived hostile disposition of these rival traders, we gathered. Travels was told that dealers in Toyota and Datsun spare-parts are the arrowheads of the rally against Nigerians.
Truck/Trailer dealers around Kumasi’s New Road Junction appear not to have any problem with Nigerians, we further learnt. Some Nigerians resident in Ghana remided that countless Ghanaians were living in Nigeria unharassed. “One of the biggest restaurants in Warri, Delta State is owned by a Ghanaian. Also, a major haulage business merchant based in Nnewi, Anambra State; is of Ghanaian origin”, Onwa cited.
Concluding, Onwa, who was President of Nigerian Youth Association (NYA) in Ghana from 2004 to 2007; rued: “The sad reality is that the people now up in arms against us were once our store-boys. I’ve been here (Suame Magazine, Kumasi) for almost 24 years. We helped them to get to where they are today by introducing them to this business. Ironically, the same people we supported in the past have now turned against us”.
Chief Joseph Okpala, who is Treasurer, Asante Region Chapter of NUTAG; said Nigerian traders were disturbed that their country’s authority and the Ghanaian government were still unable to resolve the matter. “We are really worried”, the man remarked.
During a chat with Travels in Accra, Hon. Obi; confirmed that the recent flurry of meetings was prompted by the predicament of Nigerian entrepreneurs in Ghana, especially those in Ashanti Region. “Ghanaian spare-parts dealers around an area called Magazine in Suame, Kumasi; say they want every shop owned by a Nigerian shut because foreigners are not eligible to engage in retail trade. That is the main issue”.
As to what NUTAG had been doing to resolve the issue, Obi recalled; “Some of us (NUTAG national executives) travelled from Ghana to Abuja about two months ago. We spent four days (August 21 to 24) in Abuja because of this matter. Among the things we did, while in Abuja, was a visit to the office of the minister of trade.
“We also expressed, to various relevant authorities, our gratitude to the Nigerian Government for sending powerful delegations to Ghana for talks with their Ghanaian counterparts regarding our plight. During our stay in Abuja, we were assured that the matter was being handled by ECOWAS. So, we had returned to Ghana believing the matter was being treated by constituted authorities”.
In the face of assurances they got barely two months ago, Obi and others are expectedly shocked that their alleged harassment at the hands of rival traders could surge forth again, so soon. He said NUTAG executives, after a brainstorm that lasted some three hours resolved to carry on with their businesses, even as efforts would be made to brief relevant authorities on both Ghanaian and Nigerian sides of developments as they unfolded.
As to their position after series of deliberations, the NUTAG executives almost in a chorus; declared: “Nigerians will not close shop because we are here officially. Our companies are registered corporate bodies, and we pay our taxes and dues to the government as at when due”.
But, if they are not welcome by the host community, must they remain in Kumasi at all cost? “O, don’t get us wrong. It is not the host community that have asked us to stop doing business here. Our antagonists constitute a negligible fraction of the host community. We understand their problem: it is fear of fair competition. But, not every member of the indigenous spare-parts dealers’ association are against Nigerian traders. Those that want us out of business are rival local dealers in Japanese automobile spare-parts”, Hon. Obi offered.
The influx of Nigerian entrepreneurs into Ghana is generating mixed reactions among members of the host nation. On one hand are Ghanaian traders, who see the involvement of some Nigerians doing business in their country as a threat: such Ghanaians feel that Nigerians are robbing locals of means of livelihood by playing importer, distributor and retailer all rolled into one.
On the other hand are Ghanaian consumers, who welcome Nigerians because of the competitive pricing their presence commands. We gathered that these category of Ghanaians prefer to buy from Nigerians, whose traders rely more on huge turnover than on a hefty profit margin.
In any case, the issue seems to be morphing into an intractible imbroglio. Six years have rolled by since the crisis broke, yet the sticking points remain: Should citizens of ECOWAS Member States be subjected to the same somewhat stringent formalities for floating a business in Ghana required of people from other parts of the world?
Hon. Obi, NUTAG National VP, thinks citizens of ECOWAS member states deserve some exemptions. “I believe ECOWAS would cease to be relevant, if we continue like this”, he remarked.
Flashback
Shops owned by numerous Nigerians had earlier been shut by Ghanaian authorities from April 2009 to early 2010. Although all seems calm and quiet from time to time, there is a current of mistrust beneath the surface. In deed, a report titled, Tension brews at Suame Magazine; on page 17 of the August 26, 2011 edition of Daily Guide, pointedly brought the issue to the fore.
“Tension is brewing at Suame Magazine, a business hub of Kumasi, following a threat by an association of retailers to stop foreigners from engaging in retail and petty trading in the area”; read the overture of the Daily Guide story. According to the report, members of Suame Magazine Retailers Association (SMRA), an affiliate of Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA), “have been angered by the growing number of foreigners, mainly Nigerians, engaged in petty-trading and retail and have consequently threatened to stop them from doing business in the area, if government fails to act in that direction”.
During a chat with Morgan Owusu, Kumasi correspondent of Daily Guide, SMRA Chairman, Kwame Brenyah, reportedly wondered: “Why government had failed to enforce the country’s laws on trading”. Citing relevant statutes as regards foreigners wishing to engage in trading in Ghana, Mr. Brenyah, who is also GUTA Representative for Ashanti Region; is reported to have lamented; “foreigners, particularly Nigerians, had taken over Magazine … and were selling all manner of goods on tables in the area, a trading activity reserved for Ghanaians”.
According to the report, Brenyah accused “some of the foreigners of employing indecent business tactics to push Ghanaians out of petty-trading and retail business”. He observed that some of the foreigners posing as wholesalers turn around to retail their products at cheaper costs, after selling the same goods to Ghanaians engaged in the retail business”.
Brenyah had gone on to laud Ghana Investment Promotion Council, which set up a task force that “went round arresting foreigners engaged in petty trading and retail activities”. Interestingly, Brenyah, in the same breath; alleged that “the (GIPC) task force split up, when some ambassadors in the country, whose natives were affected by the exercise, raised concerns over the matter”.
Brenyah had subsequently threatened that members may resort to self-help or to take the law in their hand since his association “believes government is unwilling to protect the business interests of local people”. Mr. Brenyah had gone on to declare: “We are giving government a few weeks to act or we will act ourselves”, the Daily Guide report had forewarned.
Parting on a lighter note
It is worth pointing out that, most of those affected have been resident in Ghana’s Ashanti Region for over 20 years. This explains why many of them speak the indigenous tongue, Twi, fluently. Chief Obodoekwe is an indigene of Igbo Ukwu, Aguata LGA in Anambra; but, he speaks eloquent Twi.
When asked how good his comprehension of this Ghanaian tongue was, he enthusiastically interjected: “O, I love the language. But, I must admit that my Twi is not better than that of this man (Chief Okpala), who speaks the language like an indigene”.
Chief Okpala, of Nwabuike Industries Ltd, is a Japanese motor spareparts trader and has lived in Kumasi for 21 years. When asked, how his Twi could be better than Onwa’s; the latter offered: “You know, some people are better at grasping languages than other people”.
- MAURICE ARCHIBONG, Kumasi, Ghana (+233508234202), mauricearchibongtravels@gmail.com
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