From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Rashid Bawa, has assured that the required Coronavirus (COVID-19) Testing Procedures for travellers to the West African country are not meant to harass and embarrass Nigerians.
He gave the assurance during a courtesy call on Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in Abuja.
His visit followed the alleged maltreatment of a Nigerian who tested negative to COVID-19 in Dubai only to test positive on arrival in Ghana.
The envoy pointed out that while the COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test was mandatory, Ghana would not maliciously produce COVID-19 positive test results for visitors, especially Nigerian visitors.
Bawa expressed concern about the increasing number of underage Nigerian girls being trafficked to Ghana, saying that more should be done to prosecute the syndicate behind such dastardly act.
The envoy admitted that both countries have in recent times experienced diplomatic challenges, in spite of the long-standing bilateral relationship between them. He listed the tension Nigerian and Ghanaian traders as one of those diplomatic challenges.
According to him, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between both countries’ ministers of trade towards enthroning peaceful trade relations. He added that a Joint Task Force was also set up to further monitor the situation.
Bawa stated that both countries will stop at nothing to fish out perpetrators of cybercrime and syndicates trafficking Nigerian female minors from Nigeria to Ghana for prostitution.
He commended NiDCOM for the efforts being made to project Nigerians in diaspora as important contributors to development in Nigeria. He expressed the desire to see that a similar diaspora commission is replicated in his home country.
Dabiri-Erewa, in her response, agreed with the Ghanaian envoy that although the COVID-19 test was a necessary requirement for visitors to Ghana, Ghanaian authorities “must ensure that visitors are treated with dignity, fairly, and humanely.”
Speaking on cybercrime and human trafficking, she urged relevant agencies such as the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to work closely with their Ghanaian counterparts to treat the few fraudulent Nigerians in Ghana creating a bad image for their country and causing problems in the host country accordingly.
She insisted that numerous Nigerians living and doing business in Ghana are the hardwork and diligent in what they do.