Make Ghana David, if Nigeria is Goliath – GUTA to Government

The Ghana Union of Traders Association(GUTA), says the government should begin to hold frantic talks with ECOWAS commission on matters of trade and seek ways to protect Ghanaian traders in the sub-region.

President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng argues Nigeria Government prioritizes its citizens urging the Government of Ghana to learn from this.

“For them, Ecowas protocols or not, citizens right is paramount. Its their country first, the economy first and not any protocol. When they closed their borders, their key manufacturers were penetrating. Look at the smuggling that goes on in the eastern corridor. Government should close the eastern corridor now.” Dr. Obeng said in an interview with Anopa Kasapa Morning Show host, Kweku Owusu Adjei on Friday.

He added: “If Nigeria is Goliath in Africa, we should see Ghana as David. It looks like Ghana is handicapped and our sovereignty is being compromised.”

Nigeria on Tuesday closed its borders on grounds that the country was battling issues of security, smuggling and flooding of their markets with foreign goods.

But Ghana and Nigeria in the meantime have both agreed on the creation of a temporary corridor on Nigeria’s western border with?Benin, where Ghanaian goods in transit from Benin, and vice versa, can pass to avoid collateral damage arising from the closure of Nigeria’s borders with Benin.

The Ghana Government is also expected to provide further information on Ghanaian companies that do business in Nigeria, the goods and companies affected and those likely to be affected by the closure of the borders, as well as stranded trucks at the borders to enable Nigeria’s officials to better identify the Ghanaian traders.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Trade and industry, Carlos Ahenkorah admitted the situation is worrying but said Ghanaian authorities need a tactful way of handling matters with its Nigerian counterpart.

“There are no direction within the protocol to resolve disagreements between member states. Most of our traders dependency is on Nigeria manufacturers because they have the numbers. There are manufacturers in Ghana that rely heavily on the Nigerian economy. Forinstance, Kinapharma, Kasapreko and others have direct relationship with the Nigerian market and so we should be more diligent in solving this.

“The people who are at the forefront have the capacity to solve the problem. It’ll take time, but it’ll still be resolved.”