WHAT HAPPENED TO GHANA …AND
LESSONS FOR NIGERIA
It did not help matters that Ghana did not
treat her neighbors such as Nigerians
kindly during their years of abundance. I
recalled all the obstacles the Ghanaian
government put along the way to dissuade
potential Nigerian investors. I'm sure now
they wish they hadn't done so, but again,
the damage is done, for I can't see those
Nigerians rushing out to rescue Ghana
from herself.
Not so long ago Ghana was the poster
child of everything that could go right
about sub-Saharan Africa, and this wasn't
anything new, the country has always
been ahead of the pack. In spite of the
works for agitation of independence by
people like Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi
Azikiwe both of Nigeria, Ghana managed
under Nkuruma to obtain her
independence from Britain in 1957, three
years ahead of Nigeria and most other
African countries. In recent years, Ghana
became the place to be in Africa. Their
economy was booming, the country was
stable with successive peaceful and
transparent democratic successions. They
had steady light, low inflation, and new
offshore oil discoveries that portends vast
riches. Ghana became the number one
destination for black Americans and
Jamaicans for resettlement and for
investment. Even Nigerians began
flooding the streets of Ghana for business
and leisure, while many more simply sent
off their children to schools there.
In the past few days, however, Ghanaians
have taken to the streets in protest about
the state of their economy, rising inflation,
and the declining value of their local
currency. The Ghanaian President, John
Muhama, recently indicated that Ghana is
about to seek financial bailout from the
IMF. Isn't it amazing how times have
changed for Ghana, and rather suddenly
because just a couple of years ago Ghana
was still recognized as the shining
example of stability in West Africa. Only
last year the country celebrated ten years
of uninterrupted power supply, something
most Nigerians can only dream about.
About six months ago I heard of the first
signs that all was not well with Ghana's
economy. At first I thought it might be just
a minor hiccup, perhaps a small or rather
soft landing of an overheated economy, or
maybe that it was only an unfounded
rumor without any merit. Unfortunately
everything I heard turned out to be true,
and even worse.
I have since wondered what happened to
Ghana, how could a well-managed
economy with seemingly less corruption
than their Nigerian neighbors suddenly
take a nose dive? The answer is still
blowing in the wind, but there are a few
pointers that might lead us to where the
problem began. First, sometime ago
Ghana decided to revalue their currency,
the cedi. Their central bank applied a
reverse split that ultimately brought the
formerly weak currency to par with the US
dollar. For example, if one had one million
cedi in the bank, after the reverse split
the person may now end up with a
thousand cedi, but that cedi will have the
same purchasing parity with the US dollar.
I recalled publishing an article in the US
when Ghana did this, warning them that
they are embarking on a never-ending
slippery slope. At the time I sighted
countries like Mexico that have tried doing
this with their Peso and how they have
revisited that valuation more than once. In
2007 Nigeria's Central Bank Governor,
Chukwuma Soludo attempted a similar
revaluation of the Naira, and I published
an article (Go East, to China, young man)
in which I cautioned against that move. I
reposted that same article in March last
year, cautioning Sanusi.
Fortunately for Nigeria, but for political
reasons, the Yar'adua's government
stopped Soludo from carrying on the
revaluation. I believe that Ghana has
revalued their currency more than once
since the first time, and currently the cedi
has lost 50% of its value this year alone,
making it the worst performing currency in
the world so far in 2014. As the cedi
depreciates, so does the cost of buying
products from overseas, which is passed
on to the consumers and consequently
inflation in Ghana has now topped 15%
this year. As mentioned Ghana celebrated
ten years of uninterrupted power supply
last year. It was as if Nigeria, which has
failed to achieve even a day of
uninterrupted power supply, decided to
rain in on their parade. Nigeria supplies
most of the gas used to power the electric
plants in Ghana, and lately as Nigeria
experienced stoppages due to gas
pipeline vandalism, their supply to Ghana
was finally affected. And suddenly Ghana
began to experience rolling blackouts and
just downright power failures that
sometimes lasts for weeks in some
neighborhood. Well, I say to them,
welcome to the Nigerian world.
Surely lack of power must have accounted
for significant drops in manufacturing and
other business activities, especially for
people that have grown accustomed to
steady power supply through the years,
and some might have failed to make
necessary provisions for alternative source
of power as most Nigerians do. But the
major measurable source of decline is
about the price of gold. Gold represents
about 45% of Ghana's export, and gold
prices have declined in recent times,
undoubtedly affecting that nation's
income. Cocoa has equally been on the
decline though Ghana has significantly
reduced their dependency on cocoa
export since it was the dominant foreign
exchange earner for them back in the
fifties and sixties. Apparently overreliance
on one product as it is with gold in this
case has come to bite Ghana harder than
they expect. As bad as it is for Ghana that
gold represents 45% of their export, can
you now imagine what could happen to
Nigeria if and when oil prices crash as oil
represents well over 90% of our export
revenue. The potential outcome is simply
unfathomable yet no one in Nigeria's
government has taken out time to think
seriously about its potentially devastating
effects.
A few years back Ghana discovered oil in
their offshore waters and they have spent
quite a bit of money to develop those oil
wells. Their planning on what to do with
the oil revenue was more structured and
acclaimed to be something of a forward
thinking approach. But in the end, the
amount of oil being tapped have falling far
short of expectation. Amid all these
shortages here and there, the government
of Ghana has become highly stretched,
and are now desperately struggling to
make up for these shortfalls, but it
appears that the damage has been done,
and anything short of a major bailout
would mean doom for the country. Ghana
has come a long way; in 2007 it became
the first country in sub-Saharan Africa
other than South Africa to issue
international bonds. Today, it's unlikely
that issuing more international bonds
would be part of the solution as those
international investors are now fleeing in
droves. It did not help matters that Ghana
did not treat her neighbors such as
Nigerians kindly during their years of
abundance. I recalled all the obstacles the
Ghanaian government put along the way
to dissuade potential Nigerian investors.
I'm sure now they wish they hadn't done
so, but again, the damage is done, for I
can't see those Nigerians rushing out to
rescue Ghana from herself.
The bottom line is that Ghana is not quite
Nigeria. The economy of Lagos and Akwa
Ibom combined is greater than that of
Ghana, and its population is under 30
million. But there are lessons here for
Nigeria. If this can happen to Ghana it
surely can happen to Nigeria. Our over
reliance on oil for export revenue is one
thing that makes Nigeria overexposed to
the risk of price fluctuations or worse a
crash in price. Our inability to provide
constant power supply continues to be a
drain on the cost of doing business in
Nigeria. Our cost of supporting the Naira is
unaffordable to this economy, and I have
written about this issue before. There is no
doubt that corruption has played some
role on what is going on in Ghana, I am
certain that we have far greater
corruption in Nigeria. And finally, we must
always keep our doors open, this is
America's best kept secret. Open doors
means a constant flow of hungry
immigrants that are willing to work harder
than the otherwise settled population. We
have repeatedly flaunted how Nigeria is
growing at 7% annually, it is no longer
true. Last year, Nigeria's economy grew at
just under 6% but I am sure that your
political leaders won't tell you this. And
finally, as the Champaign begins to flow in
Abuja and across most state capitals in
anticipation of next year's election, I hope
we still keep our eyes on the ball…on the
economy of Nigeria before we suddenly
hear stories as it is happening in Ghana
today.
Michael Nnebe is a former Wall Street
Investment Banker and the Author of
several novels, including; Every Dream
Has A Price, Riverside Park, Blood
Covenant, Gloomy Shadows, Passing
wishes, Prime Suspect, and others.
Source: Michael, Nnebe

Although the writer made some valid points I see some of his posts to be wrong. From 07 till date ghana has enjoyed the influx of Nigeria investors almost all sectors . The amount of nigerian companies in the country can attest to that

iamord: Although the writer made some valid points I see some of his posts to be wrong. From 07 till date ghana has enjoyed the influx of Nigeria investors almost all sectors . The amount of nigerian companies in the country can attest to that

lovely article. I think nigeria's economy is fast diversifying. Though coming a bit late, the growth in agriculture, manufacturing, retail and construction is a testament to that. At one point Ghana instituted taxes and levies on foreign businesses which was more or less directed at Nigerians. The Nigerian government had to respond before those acts were reverse. That to some extend affected the relationship between the two countries unlike in the days of Obasanjo and kufour were nigeria loan Ghana about $25 million or so.

i think the poster is wrong, nigerians are a major investors in ghana, to some extent ghana was lenient.

customized13: i think the poster is wrong, nigerians are a major investors in ghana, to some extent ghana was lenient.

I beg to differ, I remember the hostile treatment given to Nigerian traders there some few years ago in the name of restructuring. You can Google to read reports of those days

Who is the useless author of this article that said Ghana celeberated 10 years of uninterrupted power supply last year?
Ghana cannot even boast of one month of uninterrupted power supply in their history let alone one year.
It is disgusting when roadside rumours find their way into mainstream media.

edoyad:

I beg to differ, I remember the hostile treatment given to Igbo traders there some few years ago in the name of restructuring. You can Google to read reports of those days

didn't hear of this, well, i stand to be corrected.

The day they started showing hostility to foreign investors especially Nigerians was the day i knew their economy was doomed. I remember when Glo mast were destroyed, a whole market developed by Igbos was taken from them and given to Ghanians and they told those displaced tradesmen to relocate and the circle continued and seemingly their government endorsed those move. I just hope they get their act back because it would be good if their country did well in times to come.

Just look at one example

Nigeria has decided to suspend its diplomatic tussle with Ghana over the alleged deportation of Nigerian businessmen from the country following the intervention of the Economic Community of West African States.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa confirmed this to SUNDAY PUNCH.

Ghana had slammed foreign businessmen, mostly Nigerians, with a $300,000 (N46m) business establishment fee and allegedly sent those who could not pay packing.

Dabiri-Erewa however, told our correspondent in an interview, that ECOWAS had called for a negotiation between the countries.

She said, “Ghana has rescinded the decision and the negotiations would last for four months. We hope we will reach a mutual understanding within the period.”

A text message notifying her of the suspension was forwarded to our correspondent.

It read, “The task force, charged with the responsibility to close shops, is made up of the officials of Ghana’s Registrar-General’s Department, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ghana Revenue Authority, Immigration, Ghana Police Service, Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Representatives of these agencies, as well as journalists had gathered at the Ministry of Trade in Accra on Monday, June 25, 2012 for the closure exercise. Suddenly, the Director of Communication, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr. Nana Akrasi Sarpong, emerged and announced that the exercise had been called off for now.

“While this was going on, the Vice-President, Ghana Union of Traders Association, Mr. Daniel Aggrey, angrily dashed in to oppose the suspension of the exercise. We believe the call-off is temporary.”

Dabiri-Erewa had recently led a delegation to the Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu to register a complaint over Ghana’s policy.

According to her, the Ghanaian Parliament’s law which states that Nigerians must have the $300,000 before they can run a business in Ghana is unfair.

She said, “Most of these Nigerian traders in Ghana, deal in small goods like CDs, videos, cassettes. For anyone to ask them to bring $300,000 before they can set up a petty business is a bit hypocritical.

“Even if the traders come together, I don’t think they will get N46m to do business there. Ghana should not take us back to 28 years ago when we had issues in West Africa.”

The Ghana Investment Promotion Council had first introduced the fee on November 28, 2007. The council was alleged to have sealed-up hundreds of shops that were not able to pay the fee for more than 20 months.

It would be recalled that South Africa and Nigeria had been embroiled in a diplomatic feud in March, 2012, after authorities at the Oliver Thambo Airport, Johannesburg deported 125 Nigerians, alleging that their yellow fever vaccination cards were not genuine.

Nigeria had, in return, deported 84 South Africans within two days.

customized13: didn't hear of this, well, i stand to be corrected.

edoyad: Just look at one example

i rest my case then, am not sorry for ghana.

nice point.nice write up.

edoyad:

I beg to differ, I remember the hostile treatment given to nigerian traders there some few years ago in the name of restructuring. You can Google to read reports of those days

this sectionalism doesnt help us at times

Itoroetti:

this sectionalism doesnt help us at times

Sorry I didn't mean it that way, I was only trying to be very detailed to prove the point I was making

I doubt Nigerians staying away from Ghana because of economic woes, rather, the shrew businessmen will keep finding opportunities in trash

Moral precedent: a monkey and a gorrilla may claim one tree, but the monkey remain a monkey and the gorrilla remain a gorrilla. I hope uncle gej will not bail them out, just like baba bought couple of jeeps for their police. Bunch of ingrates.

edoyad:

I beg to differ, I remember the hostile treatment given to Nigerian traders there some few years ago in the name of restructuring. You can Google to read reports of those days

Why do blacks hate themselves so much. We need to take a cue from the European union, a Spanish man can relocate to UK and he will be welcome. However the few countries making progress like Ghana and south Africa always allow things to get into their head. Look at how ordinary SA that was traumatized with apartheid keep chasing Zimbabweans and Nigerians, Ghana was also hostile to Nigerian businesses back then.

Tvegas:
Why do blacks hate themselves so much. We need to take a cue from the European union, a Spanish man can relocate to UK and he will be welcome. However the few countries making progress like Ghana and south Africa always allow things to get into their head. Look at how ordinary SA that was traumatized with apartheid keep chasing Zimbabweans and Nigerians, Ghana was also hostile to Nigerian businesses back then.

That is why I respect our country inspite of her many flaws. You would never see Nigerians victimizing any of their neighbours setting up businesses in our country. If anything, people like to patronize businesses established by Aliens: Ghana Bread, Senegalese Fashion, Benin builders

Tvegas:

Why do blacks hate themselves so much. We need to take a cue from the European union, a Spanish man can relocate to UK and he will be welcome. However the few countries making progress like Ghana and south Africa always allow things to get into their head. Look at how ordinary SA that was traumatized with apartheid keep chasing Zimbabweans and Nigerians, Ghana was also hostile to Nigerian businesses back then.

And the most annoying part of it is, both SA and Ghana are direct beneficiaries of nigerian good will. But as Soon as the going becomes smooth for them, Nigerians become the target of resentment. That's why I prefer Ghana to run to the IMF now rather than Nigeria assisting again. Let them have a good dose of the IMF treatment. Maybe the forgot the structural adjustment programs of the 80s.

edoyad:

That is why I respect our country inspite of her many flaws. You would never see Nigerians victimizing any of their neighbours setting up businesses in our country. If anything, people like to patronize businesses established by Aliens: Ghana Bread, Senegalese Fashion, Benin builders

aptly written, wears and cars from benin republic are high-targets in nigeria.

A WRITE UP BY A GHANAIAN ON HOW WELL NIGERIANS TREATED THEM IN THE 80s.
.
This article is dedicated to all those Ghanaians who went to Nigeria
in search of a better life between 1978 and the second “Ghana Must
Go” in 1985. You saw the very best of Nigeria and no matter what
happened to you then, or later, you will never forget your time in
that country!)
Some people say it was the “constro” boys who went first and came
back home with the good news. Others say it was the trained
teachers (Cert A holders) who went first, started teaching in
secondary schools there and came back on holidays and took along
their brothers and friends who are graduates. Still others maintain
that Ghanaians had been travelling to Nigeria since goodness knows
when. There were vehicles that made the long journey from Kumasi
or Accra to Lagos. Long before our independence, Anlo fishermen
and traders piled themselves into trucks setting forth from Keta into
the wilds of Nigeria. The journey took the whole day. Nigeria was far
away, very far away indeed.
No matter where the truth lies, one thing is certain. The great
movement of Ghanaians to Nigeria in search of a better life would
not happen until after 1975. Prior to that, nobody left Ghana to
settle in Nigeria because Ghana was not good enough for him. There
have always been ties between individual Ghanaians and Nigerians
with inter-marriages meaning some Ghanaians moved to settle in
Nigeria. But nobody left Ghana to escape economic hardships. Not
until the mid-70s.
The largest chunk of the economic migrants from Ghana to Nigeria
made their moves between 1978 and 1981 or thereabouts. By 1982,
[b]Lagos was full of Ghanaians from all walks of life. They ranged
from university lecturers (and students), medical officers, political
refugees, through secondary school teachers to our boys working
on construction sites and our girls selling bread in the “go slow” on
the highway leading out of Lagos to Abeokuta. They rushed to the
slow moving vehicles peddling what they called “Ghana bread”.
(Some of the Yoruba didn’t like this bread complaining that there
was too much sugar in it. Yes, much of Ghanaian bread contains
too much sugar. If there is not too much sugar, then there is too
much salt!) Some of our girls chose the easy way out and betook
themselves to the houses of ill-repute where they plied their
damnable trade.
By the 70s, the journey now took only a few hours from Accra to
Lagos. If you liked, you made the “short-short” one by taking a
vehicle to Aflao, crossing the border on foot, taking a taxi to the
station near Asigame (Grand Marché) in Lomé, where you took one
of the Peugeot “caravans” straight to the Badagry border where
another vehicle took you into Lagos. You could also take a vehicle
from Cotonou and make it to the old port of Porto Novo (Xogbonu)
and enter Nigeria at Idiroko which was the border crossing before
the huge Badagry border was rebuilt as the main entry point. The
Idiroko to Lagos road was still called the “Old Ghana Road” when[/b]
we were there.
For the Ghanaian making the journey by road to Lagos for the first
time, it was a real experience. Once you cleared the Badagry border
and was on your way on the dual carriage to Lagos, you knew you
were somewhere far away from Accra. Lagos looked big to you.
Much of it was like a huge construction site. This was the time
when foreign companies like Julius Berger were building flyovers,
overhead bridges, and motorways all over the place.
Even though Ghanaians could be found in every state, most of them
were in the Yoruba speaking states which are geographically nearest
to Ghana. The Yoruba are the single largest of Nigeria’s more than
250 ethnic groups. There are far more Yoruba than there are
Ghanaians of all tribes worldwide! Most of the Nigerians who lived
among us in Ghana before the Aliens Compliance Order (ACO) were
Yoruba. They were the ones we called “Alatafuo” or “Anago” and
when we went to them, they also called us “omo Ghana” (no offence
meant, none was taken either). So the Ghanaian connection with
the Yoruba, in particular, is a long one. Some versions of Ewe
history even trace the origins of the Ewe to a place called Ketu in
Yorubaland. In the early 80s, in places like Ogbomosho, Ejigbo,
Osogbo, Ilesha, one could still meet those Yoruba who had lived in
Ghana before ACO and who still spoke fluent Twi, Fante, Ewe or Ga.
They were proud to display their knowledge of these languages,
having quite left the bitterness of the “munko munko” (ACO) behind
them.
The years around 1980 marked the most dizzying heights of
[b]Nigeria’s oil-fired economy. The oil money was flowing through
everybody’s fingers and some of us were there to partake of the
goodies. They accepted us so long as there was something for
everybody.
Every Ghanaian who went there got some kind of job. Teachers
were in high demand. It was very easy for the Ghanaian teacher to
fit into the Nigerian classroom. Because WAEC gave us all the same
GCE syllabus, Ghanaian teachers found themselves teaching exactly
the same things they were teaching in Ghana. Maths, Science and
English teachers were especially in high demand. The greatest need
for teachers was in the states controlled by the UPN which were
implementing free education – the type Akufo-Addo is promising
us. The UPN was then led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the revered
Yoruba leader. (I have, sometimes, wondered if there is some
resemblance between him and Akufo-Addo that goes beyond their
old style round metal-rimmed glasses.) Secondary schools were
built in all towns and villages and students went straight from
primary school to these schools without any exams.
It was not that there were no Nigerians who could teach their
children. The economy was so good that Nigerian university
graduates looked down on the teaching job. They easily got higher
paying jobs in industry or obtained generous state or federal
government scholarships to pursue advanced studies in foreign
universities. Ghanaians readily took their places and acquitted
themselves well. Indeed, there will come a time, (if that time has not
even passed) when a crop of prominent Nigerians can proudly say
that some of their best teachers in secondary school were
Ghanaians. They will be referring to that time, around the 80s, when
so many Ghanaians taught so many Nigerians.
Everything was very cheap in this country. What we had then called
“essential commodities” in Ghana were anything but essential in
Agege (the name of the Lagos suburb that, in Ghana, became used
for the entire country). Blue Band Margarine, which had ceased to
exist in Ghana, was available at every roadside seller’s. Beer was
one naira for the premier brands of Star and Gulder – brands that
we had known from Ghana.[/b] The big bottle of Guinness, Odekun,
(which was unavailable in Ghana) went for 1.30 naira and the little
bottle (kekere) made you poorer by a mere 70 kobo. Semovita cost
80 kobo a kilo. We did not even have Semovita in Ghana then.
Sardines and Geisha (which Nigerians looked down upon but were
favourite items in Ghana, the lack of which can cause governments
to be overthrown) were all over the place selling cheaply. During the
Christmas season, imports were increased bringing down the prices
of items across the board. In Ghana price increases were
particularly notable during the Christmas season.
Those Ghanaians who went to Nigeria before 1980 saw the very
best of the country, economically. In some states, graduate
teachers were given car loans in cash! You took your 3,000 naira,
went to a car dealer and drove away with your brand new locally
assembled VW “beetul”. It cost you less than 3,000 naira so you had
something left over to buy petrol and drinks to celebrate your first
new car with your friends – to “wash” the car, as it were. In the
early 80s, a graduate teacher’s monthly pay of 360 naira was
enough to buy you a return ticket to the UK. That was before the
Thatcher government brought in visa requirements for Ghanaians
and Nigerians. Those Ghanaians daring enough went on holidays in
Britain. The naira was equivalent to the pound and fetched you
more than a dollar!
This was also the time Ghanaians would tell jokes about the
newcomer who went to the wayside chop bar and asked for 50 kobo
rice and 50 kobo meat and the seller woman looked at him with
surprise. He insisted on his order and when he was served, there
was no way he could eat it all. He thought the naira was like the
cedi he had left behind in Ghana.
At the beginning of each academic year, the now defunct West
Africa Magazine published long lists of Nigerian scholarship winners
who would be going to universities in Europe and North America to
study obscure subjects in the sciences and technology. It was as if
the states were competing with each other to see which of them
could send the greatest numbers of their citizens on scholarships
abroad. We looked at these lists with a tinge of envy. Our country
could not afford to give us similar privileges.
The daily newspapers were bumpy affairs of 48-60 pages at a time
when our flagship national daily, Daily Graphic, was still running 16
pages in tiny print. There were even broadsheets, something we had
never seen in Ghana before. A few of the numerous newspapers
really had quality stuff. The newly established Lagos Guardian
attracted articles from some of the country’s greatest brains – Wolé
Soyinka, Niyi Osundare, Kole Omotoso, Chinweinzu. Then came the
newsmagazine, Newswatch, modelled on Time Magazine and better
than anything we ever had in Ghana. On its staff were some of the
country’s best journalists including Dele Giwa who was murdered
by a mail bomb during Babangida’s reign of terror. There were
several television and radio stations at a time when Ghana still had
only one television channel and one national broadcaster and we
had never heard of FM broadcasting. Naija movies were not
available then.
The Ghanaian immigrant felt completely at home. Ghana was not
too far away and you could visit home for the weekend. We settled.
We started enjoying the food, the beer, the women and the music.
Oh, the music, especially Yoruba music. Because of Juju music’s
roots in highlife, it was easy for Ghanaians to take on and like that
music. Moreover, some of us still remembered the time when the
Yoruba lived among us in Ghana and played lots of the music of the
accordion playing I. K. Dairo. They may have played the music of
Haruna Ishola too.
The 80s marked the heights of the careers of King Sunny Adé with
his velvety voice (Gboromiro; Synchrooo ... synchro system) and
“Shief” Commander Ebenezer Obey and his evergreen, forever and
forever wedding song: Eto gbeyawo laye t’Oba Oluwa mi file le, pelu
aseni... (What God has joined togedaa let no man put asondaaa...).
Fuji, Apala and Sakara music are more difficult for Ghanaians to
absorb. They are more traditionally based with Islamic roots. But if
you live in a place where you hear a certain music type being played
over and over again, and see the people cooing over it, you cannot
help but get infected yourself. That is why many of us will never
forget names like the late Alhaji Sikuru Ayindé Barrister, Kollington
Ayinla, or Mama Salawa Abeni. Today, Fuji music has morphed into
the Yoruba variant of hip-hop. But for those of us who were there in
the early 80s, it is the music of Sunny Adé (is there any musician
who has sung his way into the hearts of the Yoruba more than this
man who has so many wonderful tracks you won’t know which
ones to choose as your favourites?) and Ebenezer Obey (who is now
into gospel music having also fallen victim to the excessive
religiosity that is now afflicting many parts of Africa) that we have
continued to enjoy long after we left the country even if we do not
understand all the mgbati mgbati.
Then things started getting bad. Many of us saw the signs very
early because we had seen similar signs in Ghana. Contracts were
not being renewed. It was becoming more difficult to get jobs.
Prices were going up. Some construction works were being
terminated midway. Remittances through the banks were becoming
more difficult to get as the black market rates of the naira started
running away from the official rates.
They did not sack us from their country. We had survived “Ghana
Must Go” 1 and 2. We left on our own when they relieved us of our
teaching jobs. Many were too old to brave the journey to another
part of the world. They returned to Ghana and went back to the
teaching service or whatever else they were doing before the Agege
craze. Many of the young ones came back to Ghana only to re-
saddle and set forth again. Some of the “constro” boys, ever the
most daring, took the desert road to Gaddafi’s Libya. Some of them
lost their lives on the way. Some of us came to Europe. Others went
to North America. There were those who made it to other African
countries like South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, or any country
willing to accept them. Anywhere else was better than the difficult
days of Rawlings’ military Ghana.
Today, it is said that more than half of Nigeria’s 160 million people
live on less than two dollars a day. The naira is now 150 to a dollar.
The largest note is 1,000 naira (equivalent to 12 ghc). A proposal to
print 5,000 naira bills was dropped. Another to re-denominate the
naira was also discarded. A bottle of Guinness is around 300 naira
and Semovita is 250 (na kekere bi dat o). The molue conductors at
Oshodi are no longer shouting: “Enter with your ten ten kobo – 50
kobo one naira no change”. That belongs to a time in the distant
past. The trip now costs 100 naira.
Nigerians are finding it difficult to exist on their monthly salaries.
Many have voted with their feet and for some, even Ghana is better
to live in. To be sure, though the Nigerian economy may not be
riding the giddy Olympian heights of the late 70s, it has never
descended into the gutters that the Ghanaian economy found itself
in the same period. But the best is over and many Nigerians will give
an arm to have the seventies and early eighties back.
Yes, there are Nigerians who are crooks, cheats, bandits, religious
fanatics and what have you. But the fact is that MOST ordinary
Nigerians are honest, peace loving, God-fearing, resourceful and
friendly people. You have to live in the country to see these ones
whom we do not hear much about. You can also ask the thousands
of Ghanaians still living there. And, oh, the country itself is, actually,
really beautiful.
For many of us, since Nigeria was our first foray outside our native
land, the country remains special to us. We still have fond
memories of our time there. I have not been back there since I left
26 years ago. I very much want to visit and walk the old paths
again. What a wistful experience that will be!
Kofi Amenyo (kofi.amenyo@yahoo.com)

This writer needs true research about Ghana and allow the propaganda that put Ghana in her current predicament slide. Ghana had ten years of no power failure? That is a lie from the kingdom of darkness itself. The shining stability most of the world ascribed to Ghana, was due mainly to manipulated data coming from Ghana. Today, they are facing this reality, not because of the current administration, but spending and borrowing done in the last 12 years. Ghana is a poor country, that's the simple truth. The earlier they accept this fact and adjust their budgeting and spending accordingly the more hurting they will be in for.

atlwireles: This writer needs true research about Ghana and allow the propaganda that put Ghana in her current predicament slid. Ghana had ten years of no power failure? That is a lie from the kingdom of darkness itself. The shining stability most of the world ascribed to Ghana, was due mainly to manipulated data coming from Ghana. Today, they are facing this reality, not because of the current administration, but spending and borrowing done in the last 12 years. Ghana is a poor country, that's the simple truth. The earlier they accept this fact and adjust their budgeting and spending accordingly the more hurting they will be in for.

my point, they need to drop the vaunt and false supercilious act.

Ghana the darling country of western nation. They should better make use of that their good name in the international communitty. When i saw a graph of Ghanas' economic woe on cnn by Richard Quest, it was very bad o. The slope was just going down, no upward trend at all. The most annoying part was the way the Ghanian minister was speaking as if nothing was seriously happening.

ghanaian citizens sabi cover shame, we don't do that in nigeria. you cannot cure a hidden sickness, you need to expose it first.

They brought it upon themselves with that senseless currency redenomination

Na nigerians go spoil am...

Their economy was always artificially inflated and the not so recent currency Redenomination of the Cedis which saw it knock 2 zeros off simply created a 100% inflation problem in waiting with little or no external revenue to back it up, the Cedis was bound to fall.

Now who is your big Brother? Looking foward to the second exodus of Ghanians to Nigeria without ebola

edoyad:

That is why I respect our country inspite of her many flaws. You would never see Nigerians victimizing any of their neighbours setting up businesses in our country. If anything, people like to patronize businesses established by Aliens: Ghana Bread, Senegalese Fashion, Benin builders

A generous country will always thrive better than the ''stingy'' ones, that is why inspite of the trauma our dear nation is facing, we cn still boost of the biggest economy in africa..check america, see where their generousity have led them to, inspite of the hate they receive from the rest of the world.....if u're good to people, keep it up, never let peoples attitude towards you change your ways. since they delight in hiding theirs from others, they will remain hidden, cos thats where they choose to be.

Financial markets in Ghana
www.businessplannigeria.com.ng/financial-markets-ghana

Please guys..we have our own problems here to resolve oo and we are here talking about Ghana's economy..Remember we still have issues with Fuel scacity, poor power outage even cost of living has skyrocket and even everything has doubled in price..please let us channel this energy on our own problems and let Ghanians worry about thiers.

omoharry:
Please guys..we have our own problems here to resolve oo and we are here talking about Ghana's economy..Remember we still have issues with Fuel scacity, poor power outage even cost of living has skyrocket and even everything has doubled in price..please let us channel this energy on our own problems and let Ghanians worry about thiers.

the funny thing is that this article came out 2years back smh

I read this article and comments and realize the real hate for Ghana by Nigerians and rejoicing that Ghana is failing and has failed totally beyond repairs and some threatening Ghanaians if we start flooding their country.Others saying they will never allow Nigeria to assist Ghana and they provide us with loans and electricity.Come on,we are still not up to 30 million yet and you guys say Lagos is times three richer than Ghana in GDP and we have not even experienced one month or even week of uninterrupted power supply.They hatred and negative hope and celebration that at last,the darling boy of the Western world,the star of Africa has fallen and failed.Ghana will continue to shine and no matter when we fall,we rise,Nigerians think they have seen sufferings,we have seen worse,experienced severe drought and farmine close to a decade,experienced several military coups,but we still comeback.It was rosy in the 50s and 60s,then we experienced hell,we dined with the devil himself,we threw ourselves to death by going to Nigeria Buh death itself spat us back through the 2.5 million force evacuation because they said we did similar to a mere 100,000 of their undocumented migrants in Ghana in the 60s,they waited for us to settle so they will attack like a snake to its prey.Did anyone including your sacred Bible and Quran tell you about revenge.And they still defend their acts arrogantly and hoping we fail again so they repeat it.If you doubt,read the article and comments.What do you say if South Africans do same to you,remember,its now visa free with 90 days stay to South Africa with a Ghanaian passport.Not everybody cries everyday that everybody hates him.You better check your character because not every country in poor Africa which you always arrogantly call will hate you without a reason.How many times do you see Ethiopians who are over 100 million fight with South Africa,Ghana or even their regional rival Kenya.There is mutual respect.I love Nigeria,Ghana and Africa and wish we progress together.God bless Nigeria,God bless Ghana and God bless Africa