Ghana and Nigeria are two sister countries both belonging once upon a time to the British colonial stable. In fact, until somewhere in the mid-1800s, the two colonies were ruled by a governor stationed in Lagos.
The Hausas and Yorubas have been engaged in business activities for a long time with their Gold Coast counterparts. The Yorubas especially have been in the Gold Coast and lately Ghana for upwards of 200 years, intermarriages having taken place between them over the years.
Today, there are fourth generation Yorubas and Hausas in Ghana, their forebears having migrated to this part of the world centuries ago.
The past two and a half decades ago have witnessed the arrival of another group of Nigerians mainly for business engagements. The Igbos who hail from the eastern part of Nigeria are hardworking business men and women. Many of them are doing genuine business for which we have no qualms about, especially since their activities do not infringe upon the laws of the land.
In the past few weeks however, one of the Igbos in Accra has attracted a bad press for his compatriots in a manner which is worrying.
The man who it is said has acquired a 50-acre of land to establish an Igbo Kingdom should be advised to make haste slowly. In the first place, the great Igbos do not have a centralised monarchical system in Nigeria—acephalous arrangement.
So how come he intends to establish a kingdom in another country?
If he is seeking to mimic the Yorubas who have been around for more than two hundred years, their leader Brimah Butcher later Chief Brimah I having been recognised by King Tackie Tawiah I. A sword of authority was presented to him by King Tackie Tawiah I to lead the Islamic community in 1908, presentation which was done posthumously because the Ga King did not live long enough to witness the coronation of Chief Brimah.
The head of the Yoruba community or chief swears oath of allegiance to the Ga Mantse.
Today, the Yorubas in Accra have heading them the ninth Chief Brimah, who draws his authority from the Ga Mantse.
The foregone should guide the so-called Igbo King in how to manage himself in the country.
Ghanaians are hospitable and receive strangers with open hands. They would resist it however, when activities of their guests border on disrespect and usurpation of powers.
We advise our compatriots to continue to show respect to their guests and to avoid xenophobic remarks which breach ECOWAS protocols.
The social media posts from the camp of the so-called Igbo King and a section of Ghanaians should be stopped so matters do not degenerate to irreparable levels.
Xenophobia is not part of our attributes in this country, but the so-called king is creating an ambience for this drawback to fester.
The responsible Igbos doing legitimate business in the country thankfully have spoken against the conduct of their bad compatriots. This we acknowledge and do hope would calm down tempers.
