The Ghanaian deputy minister of Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah has said that Ghana’s Trade and Economics needs Nigeria more than Nigeria needs Ghana for its economic survival.
This was in response to the declaration of Ghana’s Trade Union to boycott Nigeria’s products in retaliation to the action of the Nigerian federal government to close its land borders with neighbouring countries including Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east and Niger in the north.
“The best way to solve this problem is not to pay Nigeria back or have some countermeasure, but coach them into understanding that look, we are all losing, and we need you, we need each other. But I can tell you without blinking an eye that economically, trade wise, we need Nigeria more than they need us.
“If our gargantuan transformation agenda is going to work, we need markets to offload our products. This off-takers cannot be blocked.” Mr Ahenkorah said in a television show.
The minister also stated that a country like Nigeria can not be intimidated by any of Ghana’s Trade sanctions since they are the better recipient of African products.
In a similar development,Ghanian’s largest local beverage manufacturer, Kasapreko Company Limited, has reported it has lost $2 million in revenue since the closure of Nigeria’s borders. The company is the producer of Alomo Bitter, a product widely consumed by Nigerians.
In response to Nigeria’s Federal Government decision of the closure of its borders due to smuggling activities, the Greater Accra Regional Secretary of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), David Kwadwo Amoateng on Ghana’s Adom FM morning show claimed that Dangote cement had taken over Ghana’s market while local ones from GHACEM are suffering.
In protest, he said: “Let’s boycott Nigerian products as payback to their government’s action. How can we be slaves in our own country?”
The President of GUTA however said; “Nigeria recognises that it is not been bound by any protocol that is signed. It also showed that the ECOWAS protocol that we here adore so much is not sycophant…Nigeria is showing the way that we have to clear the mess that the ECOWAS protocol has brought to bear.”
Also, Republic of the Niger traders have lamented the effect of Nigeria’s borders closure on their business performance, saying they are angry at the decision.
A Niger trader, speaking in a Deutsche Welle (dw) short documentary said “In the name of Allah, this closure of the Nigeria border is causing the most possible harms. The business that allows traders to earn their daily living has gone to a standstill.
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