Ghana will suffer if violence in Nigeria escalates – Kwabena Donkor

Former Power Minister and Member of Parliament for Pru East, Dr Kwabena Donkor, has called on the Akufo-Addo-led government to do everything possible as ECOWAS chairman to ensure peace in Nigeria.

According to Dr Donkor, majority of Nigerians see Ghana as their second home and will move into the country in droves if ECOWAS and the African Union fail to immediately intervene and quell the violence that has rocked the most populous nation in Africa.

“The worse part of the Nigerian situation is its impact on Ghana…Ordinarily, most Nigerians see Ghana as their next country and vice versa,” Dr Donkor said on Morning Starr on Thursday.

He added “Unfortunately, one of the deadly diseases we have in our subregion is hypocrisy. We are very quick to condemn when a single black man is maltreated outside the continent but we’re very quiet when indigenes are maltreated on the continent.”

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who has been criticised for his seeming silence since the anti-police brutalities started in the Western African nation on Wednesday said: “I join all well-meaning persons in calling for calm, and the use of dialogue in resolving the #EndSARS impasse in Nigeria.

“I have spoken with President Buhari, who is committed to this end and has begun the processes that will lead to reform. Violence, be it on the part of the Police or protesters, cannot be the solution. To the families who have lost their loved ones, I express my sincere condolences, and I wish the injured a speedy recovery”.

But the Pru East MP believes the comments by the ECOWAS Chairman could have been stronger and condemn the brutalities of individuals protesting for a better government.

Curfew in Lagos

The governor of Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos, has announced an indefinite 24-hour curfew in the state saying that protests against police brutality have “degenerated” into violence.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu said that criminals had hijacked the demonstrations “to unleash mayhem on our state”.

Lagos has seen some of the largest of the recent wave of protests in Nigeria spearheaded by young people.

They began with a call for the disbandment of a notorious police unit.

President Muhammadu Buhari dissolved the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars), accused of illegal detentions, assaults and shootings, on 11 October.

But the demonstrators have called for wider reforms in the security forces as well as changes in the way that the country is run.

In a series of tweets, Mr Sanwo-Olu said that he had “watched with shock how what began as a peaceful #EndSARS protest has degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well-being of our society”.

“Lives and limbs have been lost as criminals and miscreants are now hiding under the umbrella of these protests to unleash mayhem on our state… we will not watch and allow anarchy in our dear state.”

The curfew will come into force at 16:00 local time and will affect millions of people. Only essential workers will be allowed out.