His Majesty Eze Dr Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu
His Majesty Eze Dr Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, the king of the Nigerian Igbo Community in Ghana, has called on Nigerian traders in Ghana not to retaliate if they are attacked by their Ghanaian counterparts.
The king has called on both Nigerian and Ghanaian traders to see themselves as brothers and sisters and urged them to amicably deal with their differences as far as retail trading is concerned.
Recently, some Nigerian-owned shops were ransacked by raucous Ghanaian youths in the early hours of Wednesday, 19 June 2019.
The vandalism of the shops was to register their displeasure against a decision by the Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) to reopen closed Nigerian retail shops.
This led to a near-clash between the Nigerians and the Ghanaians.
The confusion transpired ahead of a meeting by GUTA and other stakeholders on Wednesday to deliberate on the fate of Nigerian retailers at Suame and Tafo.
The Nigerians closed their shops temporarily on Friday, 14 June 2019 over what they described as attacks from their Ghanaian counterparts.
The Ghanaian traders argue that they are only enforcing the laws of Ghana which bar foreigners from engaging in the retail sub-sector, a preserve of Ghanaians.
The rampaging youth, who wore red bands and attires, also lit car tyres as part of their protest.
The Government of Ghana condemned the action and called on the police to intervene.
Speaking on the Ghana Yensom show on Accra100.5FM hosted by Kwabena Prah Jnr (The Don) on Thursday, 27 June 2019, Dr Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu said: “I will want to use this opportunity to plead with our brothers in the market, the Nigerians, to take things calmy; not to fight back, not to attack anybody even if they are attacked.
“They should look at it that this is our host nation, we don’t need to fight anybody. We should see it as one of the normal misunderstandings so long as the Ghanaian authorities are not in support of the situation.”
He added: “I am also using the opportunity to talk to the Ghana Traders Association to know that these are your brothers, they are not strangers to you because the same people are supplying you [with] goods. These are brothers and sisters issues, so, I am also talking to them with this opportunity I have here on Accra100.5FM for them to please welcome our people and see us as one.”
