The House of Representatives is asking the Nigerian government to invoke the diplomatic principle of reciprocity against Ghana in connection with the demolition of a building attached to the Nigeria High Commission in Accra.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, spoke on behalf of the Green Chamber during an interactive session with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, over the breach of Nigeria’s sovereignty in Ghana a few days ago.
The Speaker said the attack on Nigeria by Ghana might not have happened without the prior knowledge of the Ghanaian authorities, and stressed that the demolition deserved a tough response.
He said, “If Ghana has a problem and is approaching it through subterranean moves, then what do you think the outcome of the legal proceeding will be? So I think we should pursue it from that angle; I think we should make it clear for the authorities in Ghana that Nigeria is not going to sit down and fold its arms.
“Reciprocity is a legitimate instrument in foreign relations. The doctrine of reciprocity is what should be considered. The Nigerian state was attacked. I think we should look at this thing from the premise that the Nigerian state was attacked.
“It’s not a building that was demolished. No! The Nigerian state was attacked. I think if we look at it from that premise, we will begin to understand the importance and the gravity of what we are dealing with.”
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Gbajabiamila frowned on the soft diplomatic approach the country has adopted in responding to attacks on the country and its citizens abroad, and advised that a new approach be adopted.
“We have established a pattern, and what we get [from other countries that attack Nigeria], his apologies, and we will look into it. I don’t think that should suffice at this point.
“We must put a stop to what has become a perennial problem between Nigeria and Ghana. To me, this is a sibling rivalry between two sister countries, but even in sibling rivalry, there is a line you don’t cross, and they [Ghana] just crossed the line, albeit a second time,” he said.
Review of Nigeria’s foreign policy
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs agreed with the House that the attack on the mission was shocking.
Onyeama said the Nigerian government was considering a review of the country’s foreign policy.
“We have not got sufficient appreciation from other countries; we will have to sit down and take a decision to review our foreign policy,” he said.
Ghana apologises to Nigeria
Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo-Addo spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari expressing his sincere apologies for the demolition of a building on the premises of the Nigerian High Commission in Accra, Ghana.
The senior special assistant to Buhari on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said President Akufo-Addo told President Buhari during a telephone call that he has directed a full investigation into the incident.
“Earlier in the day, it further emerged that some suspects had been arrested and will be arraigned in court,” the statement read.
Disputed ownership
The paramount chief of the Osu Traditional Area, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, says the Nigerian High Commission has trespassed on a plot of land belonging to the Osu Stool.
He stressed in a press release issued 21 June 2020 that the said parcel of land and the entire Osu Mantse layout is not state land but is a part of its land.
Nii Kinka Dowuona VI said that “it is only the stool that has the mandate to grant lease be it expired or otherwise”.
Breaching convention
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayekor Botchwey, told the Asaase Breakfast Show that the Government of Ghana is making every effort to make restitution for what may have been a breach of the Vienna Convention, which governs diplomatic relations between nation states.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release on 20 June, saying: “Whilst expressing regrets over the incident, the mnistry wishes to reassure the diplomatic community in Ghana, and the Nigeria High Commission in particular, that Ghana remains a law-abiding country that upholds the principle of the rule of law, where due process is followed at all times.
“The government will, therefore, not relent in its primary obligation to guarantee the safety of members of the diplomatic corps in Ghana.”
