20TH CENTURY XENOPHOBIA (Ghana Must Go) - 21ST CENTURY XENOPHOBIA

Most times the human memory tends to forget the past that favors it and reminds every bit that doesn’t favor it. But history is there for one to reflect on the past actions so that he can judge himself.

What is Xenophobia?

"According to the Oxford Learners Dictionary, Xenophobia means: a dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries."

The Famous “Ghana Must Go”.

To a lot of us, we know it as a checked bag that comes in blue and black and of different sizes without knowing its history. But it has a long tragic history attached to it.

The 1970s can best be described as the golden decade for Nigeria. The economy was booming; oil price was skyrocketing; the population was manageable; corruption was nowhere to be found; people were migrating from villages to cities to join the disco party. Blacks all over the world were looking up to us. That was when we were given the title "The Giants of Africa".

For Ghana, it was the opposite. The country was collapsing and was close to a failed state. Famine has strung the land; no money was there to buy food; and for the few that had money to eat, they have to line up in the groceries to buy foodstuffs. This was how scarce food was in the country. Above all, there was a power tussle at the top. So, their dreams were shattered as each day goes by. Many of them asked themselves, "how can we survive? Who can lift the load off our shoulder?" They had no other option but to turn to Nigeria who is an English-speaking country and was fortunately experiencing an unimaginable economic boom. They said to themselves, "only the giants can lift this load off their shoulders."

In the early 1980s, oil prices started going down, and Nigeria started facing serious economic problems because it relies a lot on oil to generate revenue. The party seems to be over. The government couldn't pay salaries, lots of companies opted for the redundancy option to cut overhead costs and jobs started becoming scarce. In two- or three years’ time, there will be elections and the government is searching for excuses to spoon-feed the citizens. The ball was a strike to the foreigner's court and xenophobia kicks in.

January 17, 1983, the president issued an executive order banning all undocumented migrants from the country. Two weeks noticed was given to them to evacuate the country and anybody caught after the deadline will be arrested, tried and sent back to his country. At that time, there were over 2 million migrants, of which more than half are Ghanaians. International Community condemn what Nigeria did.

In accounting, there is what we called substance over form. This simply means that the transaction should reflect its economic substance rather than the legal form. You look at what is behind the scene rather than what is displayed on the stage. The substance of the executive order was to expel Ghanaians who have come to Nigeria to reside and are gradually taking over the jobs available for Nigerians. While the legal form was to ban all undocumented migrants.

If not xenophobia, what else would you call it? There are so many questions to ask. Why did Nigeria open its borders to millions of migrants in the first place? Why not document the immigrants rather than banning them? And if the intention is to force them to submit themselves for documentation, is two weeks enough to document 2 million migrants? Xenophobia against one citizen is the same thing as xenophobia against millions of citizens.


Can Xenophobia Ever be Stopped?

Selfishness, or call it personal interest if you want to call it on a good day, is naturally engraved in human hearts.  We stick to each other in times of difficulty and abstain from each other in times of good. In the 1980s, Nigeria had its own party, and now it's payback time.



Message to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tackling Xenophobia: The Rawlings's Methodology.

Mr. President, xenophobia against your fellow countrymen is global not just in South Africa. They only difference between the rest of the world and South Africa is the attack. Even though there are good ambassadors of the country out there, but a lot of people are tired of Nigerians taking their jobs, floating their markers with inferior goods, drug dealing and other crimes. What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for the rest to start attacking us before we use the Rawlings's methodology?

What is the Rawlings's methodology? In January 1983, when over 1 million undocumented Ghanaians were expelled from Nigeria. Rawlings was the Head of State. The country has lost its bearing and he has closed the borders to protect himself from any coup attempt. His neighboring country Togo did the same thing to avoid a refugee crisis within its boundaries. The country was in crisis and now one million citizens are standing at the border, knocking the gates. The gates were closed for almost a week. Later, he ordered the gates to be open and Togo did the same thing to allow the passage of the refugees. He even sent ships to Cotonou, the capital city of Benin Republic to ease the journey for some of the refugees. A gesture of: "Come in, and let's have a full house."

They sat down and asked themselves, why did they reject us? What is wrong with us? How did we find ourselves in this crisis? What is the solution and What is the way forward? and guess what? After finding the answers to this question all that happened in 1983 is now history. I don't think right now there is a single Ghanaian that leaves his country to come to our country to look for a job. They called themselves "The Black Stars", and truly they are.

Today, we go to Ghana to school; for medical treatments; to take their jobs away from them; to do businesses and for our honeymoons, because they are already in the moon and we are still on the earth trying to climb the ladder. Today, if you take the oil that we are bragging with (an oil that will one day come to an end) and keep it aside, I can assure you that we cannot compete with Ghana in anything. Today, Ghanaians reject Nigerians. I have witnessed it myself when I schooled there for four years a few years back. Xenophobia against Nigerians is gathering moment.

And now it is our turn to ask the same questions to ourselves. Let us apply the same methodology. Let us look inwards. STOP the blame game, your excellency. If that is the game that is to be played, then everyone is responsible for the goals that we conceded. From top-bottom. No exemption. Everyone including YOU is responsible for the corruption that took us to this level either directly or indirectly. Rewarding corrupt people with appointments just because they help to become the number one citizen is also an act of corruption; public office holders steal; and for the masses, we demand peanuts on election day. But let's forget that topic and move forward.

The country's operating system needs to be upgraded. We need a complete restructuring economically and security-wise. Young people with new ideas needs to come to the stage. Let's show them that we are still the "Giants of Africa".

Your Excellency, we still have hope in you.

Long Live Nigeria.



Message to Cyril Ramaphosa, South African President

Protecting Your Country - The Shagari Methodology.

Your Excellency, firstly, I want to inform you that we haven't lost hope yet. Even though we are facing serious economic and security crises, but we are still optimistic about what the future holds for us. Nigeria will be great again.

You are also guilty of inciting xenophobia in the minds of your fellow countrymen. And let me quote your words in a protest rally held before you came into power: "Everybody just arrives in our township and rural areas and set up businesses without licenses and permits, we are going bring this to an end. And those who are operating illegally, wherever they come from, must now know that ........". If these are the words that you can use to quench fire, then I am sorry to say that you are not a good leader. Even though you seem to protect the interest of the citizens and laws of your country, I find your methodology disgusting.

It will be easier and more respectful to all if you will deny blacks visas and other related documents to reside in your country. And denying any form of renewal of visa to them, i.e. banning blacks technically from the country. By doing so, you can enjoy your party alone. This was the methodology that Shagari used in the 1980s and it is still applicable till today. Americans are the best users of such methodology.

Before I rest my pen, I will urge you to remind your people that at a point in time, Nigeria donated billions of dollars to your country and other Southern African countries for the anti-apartheid struggle. We were at the fore front of your struggles. We fought for the liberation of Africa together.

Nigeria will be great again. We will be the giants of Africa again.

Best Regards.





Omer Aliyu.

10/9/2019

Contact:

Tel: +2348034437493

E-Mail: omeratilde@gmail.com