Ghanaians Launch Fresh Attack On Nigerian Businesses In Ghana Over Border Closure

Last month, word got out that members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) stormed markets in Ghana, closing shops belonging to Nigerians.

The reason for the action was linked to the Nigerian border closure which is believed to have crippled a number of businesses in neighbouring West African countries. The closure of Nigerian businesses in Ghana may have been a reprisal.

A few days after the closure of Nigerian businesses in Ghana, the Nigerian government summoned a Ghanaian envoy to inquire about the closure of up to 400 Nigerian stores in Ghana.

That inquiry resulted in the reopening of the Nigerian businesses that had been shut down; a move that was hailed by Nigerian traders in Ghana.

Last week, it was also reported that Nigeria opened its western border temporarily to allow passage of Ghanaian goods into Nigeria for the Lagos International Trade Fair.

But whatever reprieve the intervention of the Nigerian government brought appears to have been shortlived. And that’s because GUTA has launched more attacks on businesses belonging to Nigerians in the country.

The union on Monday closed down 15 more shops belonging to Nigerians at Opera Square in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The closure of the businesses brings the number of affected businesses to about 70.

National president of the Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG), Chukwuemeka Nnaji, has advised members to close their shops today as rumours spread that Nigerian-owned businesses at Tip Toe Lane, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, would be the latest casualties.

On Monday, police intervention and the Nigerian Mission in Ghana averted a major clash between members of GUTA and NUTAG.