Chairman of the Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, has called on the President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, to stop inciting Ghanaians against Nigerian traders.

Momodu made the call on Tuesday while reacting to a report on GhanaWeb credited to the President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, that he was the one inciting hatred against Ghanaians.

Nigerian traders have been facing harassment in Ghana, with several shops belonging to Nigerian traders shut down by security operatives, following the imposition of an outrageous $1m business registration fee by the Ghanaian authorities.

Faulting Obeng’s claim, Chief Momodu said: “Was I the one who forcefully shut down the shops of Nigerians in Ghana. Was I the one who sent agents to drag Nigerians mercilessly out of their shops? Was I the one who encouraged Dr Obeng to seek to enforce a $1 million Law/Act that goes against all global trading conditions for petty traders. I’m begging Dr Obeng to leave me out of his blackmail.”

Describing himself as a pan Africanist who has contributed immensely to the growth of Ghana by attracting businesses running into millions of dollars to the West African country, Momodu said he was currently employing Ghanaians in Ghana and Nigeria, adding that none of them can accuse him of ill-treating them.

Momodu said: “Every Ghanaian knows I’m a pan-Africanist and fanatical Nkrumahist. I have spent over two decades promoting the best interests of Ghana selflessly by appointing myself a true Ambassador of the country. I have attracted businesses, companies, tourists, investors running into millions of dollars to Ghana. I have promoted the good people of Ghana and the Republic of Ghana as peace-loving, amiable and disciplined. I probably know Ghana more than any other country in the world. Even after I lost a chunky part of my investments in Ghana, I never gave up on the beautiful country. I saw the loss as my own contribution to the growth of Africa.

“I’m currently employing Ghanaians in Ghana and Nigeria and none of them can accuse me of ill-treating them. God knows I love Ghana. But I’m saddened by the relentless spate of blistering attacks against Nigerians in Ghana. I will not sit down with arms akimbo and watch a country I have supported so much harass and frustrate my fellow country men and women without reacting and offering my humble support. I know countless Ghanaians living in Nigeria without being encumbered by deliberate and impossible obligations in order to frustrate them out of the country.

“I was once a refugee in the United Kingdom. Yet the British government took good care of me and my family. It is now obvious to me that none of the countries in Africa would have allowed Ovation International to start and thrive the way it did in England. I’m eternally grateful to the British government and will never take her uncommon support for granted. We should be worried and ashamed that Africans are better treated in Europe and America than their own continent. Thus we must endeavour to unite Africa as suggested by The Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

“I wish to request Dr Obeng and company to treat fellow Africans with the respect they deserve as people in search of greener pastures. This is not too much to ask for.” (THISDAY)

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