Ghana's Xenophobia With Nigeria & Others Is Deeper Than Jollof; Getting To The Heart Of It Could Help End Africa's Xenophobia Problem

Thursday, 30 November 2023

By TB Obwoge

Ghana fell to the 4th most peaceful country in West Africa, the young lady thinks that Ghana is the second most peaceful country is all of Africa. Her comments are hard to follow, they're filled with poor english and insults. She tags me in random posts every few days. Any crime that happens with a Nigerian any where she tags me.

She calls me fool by using the double zeros so that Facebook doesn't block or ban her account. She's clearly done this to others on social media. Her profile claims she lives in Mississippi in the United States, another reason why her education might be lacking. That's the state with the worst education in all of America. Either way, this lunatic is trying to prove that all crime in Ghana is the fault of Nigerians.

No human should have this much hatred in their hearts for a country of 219 million, they're are 219 million souls living in Nigeria. This woman has decided to make them all into villains.

Housing discrimination is common practice in Ghana, as well as employment discrimination.

Why is Ghana one of the only country where people threaten your life is you say anything negative about the country, even if it's true?

What is wrong with the culture in the country for people to be threatening the lives of others who say anything they don't like? Also this was an unprovoked attack because of news posted from a Ghana news outlet onto my page.

Ghanians are leaving their country, many are wishing to abandon Ghana. Every day a blogger from GH Page Ghana posts stories of how perfect Ghanians lives are once they've left Ghana. Yet they try to stop others from making a living in Ghana.

Several Ghanian women were looking forward to this hair fair, a few had upcoming weddings. They wanted to buy cheaper, discounted hair for their ceremonies, but they couldn't make purchases. Ghanian women were waiting and they ran them off with xenophobic signs telling foreigners to go home.

All this while the Ghana government is begging for investors and Blacks from America to come to their country. However even Black Americans aren't safe from their xenophobic hatred, I know I wasn't.

On Twitter Ghanians and Nigerians trade insults about the expelling of each country, this was decades ago, however in 2023 it's still happening to Nigerians & others in Ghana, on a large, more silent scale.

Traces of xenophobic sentiment and violence have long existed in Africa, which at times has resulted in the inflammation of inter-state relations as well as large-scale displacements.

Brief Overview of Xenophobia in Africa. 1969: Kofi Busia, former Prime Minister of Ghana, introduced the Aliens Compliance Order which sought to expel 'illegal aliens' from Ghana. Prior to this order, there was a general perception that Nigerians in Ghana were the cause of large-scale unemployment. This order resulted in the deportation of 900 000 to 1 200 000 individuals (mostly from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ivory Coast).

1972: Uganda expelled thousands of Asians from the country during a downturn in economic conditions. Asians from Britain, India, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia were given three months to leave Uganda, and their businesses were expropriated by the State.

1978: Gabon expelled all Beninese from the country amid the drawing of an alleged aspersion on President Bongo and the people of Gabon by Beninese President Kerekou. Earlier, in May 1977, Kerekou had accused Gabonese officials of a foiled mercenary coup and this was the beginning of heightened tensions between the two countries. About 9000 Beninese were expelled from the country.

1983: Nigeria expelled over 2 million foreigners from the country. This action was in response to a decline in economic fortunes as well as the perceived involvement of migrants in crime. Over a million of the 2 million people initially expelled from the country were Ghanaian with a further 300 000 leaving in a second wave occurring in 1985.

Source: Accord.org Za

Everyday living in Ghana I was made to feel worthless, Ghanians pointed, stared, laughed and called me "obolo" (fat), White woman, biggie, big mamma, fat mommie, fat momma, I was told it's polite and to ignore it. I've documented incidents where I was discriminated against all because of the color of my skin. I'm Black, no I'm not mixed race, or that horrible term they use in Africa "half caste."

I was kicked out of a Bolt ride because the driver refused to speak to me, I've had police and immigration officers stop cars I was in because they saw the color of my skin. Some even asked for bribery money from Ghanians in the vehicles with me. Who can you report this to, not one person in the country gives a damn about this issue of bribery.

Ghana's IGP even called all the police his brothers and sisters, what head would call the people he's tasked to lead his siblings? This isn't the place for a leader to sit in place calling someone he's over his brothers. Perhaps this is why his brother wasn't charged for sexually assaulting me.

It's a pandemic that's another issue causing Africa from rising, then there is inter-tribalism that takes place in most African countries. War's on ethnicity and tribes, no wonder there are Africans arguing about the eistance or the "Blackness" of Black Americans.

Again it's a Ghanian trying to tell me that Blacks from America aren't really Black. Just as a Ghanian said that all Black Americans are "lost" in his eyes because he saw some random Black people in New York City and assumed they were Americans and not from another country.

Then Nigerian entertainer Burna Boy claims Black Americans have no culture, they need to go back to Africa and adopt his culture. This hatred and xenophobia, mixed with nationalist behavior never ends with Africans in and out of Africa.

Aren't they tired yet, of the constant seperation and hatred of one another? I am exhausted and after living in 2 different African countries the tribalism is simply the worst as well.

Here another Ghanian tells me, I'm not Black because I don't speak a local language from Ghana or the surrounding countries. (She didn't think Kiswahili mattered either) She didn't care that it sounded moronic. But speaking their language also wouldn't save me from the xenophobia.

When you have money, and they know you're Black becasue of your darker skin color, then you are welcomed to Ghana. Not all the wealthy Lebanese are wanted in Ghana, even if a Lebanese-Ghanian took Ghana to the olympics in 2014. Money in Ghana affords you the luxury of feeling the massive and crushing discrimination that the some hold deeply inside of them in Ghana.

I've never understood a large group of people who want to be accepted in other peoples countries, yet don't want others in their own country. Ghanians place a lot of weight on the color of a persons's skin yet this isn't made public information. You have to live there and then find out the hard way.

Racism also plays it's way into the xenophobia in Ghana, again the many social issues in the country if addressed would end so many of the issues in Africa. Ghana which lies, claiming to be the "Gateway to Africa" but refuses to fix the mentality of xenophobia, colorism and racism in the country.

Thank you for reading 🙏🏽 Please consider buying a coffee for Lacey’s House efforts in Gender Equality & Children’s Rights as it tries to move international.

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