By Kolawole Ojebisi
The House of Representatives has said that only retaliation can assuage the hurt inflicted on the collective psyche of the country by the demolition of buildings in its Embassy in Ghana.
The House conveyed its position when Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs explained to legilstaors that Ghana has already apologized to Nigeria on the demolition. Mr Onyeama had appeared before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Abuja on Tuesday, where he was grilled over the demolition of the buildings.
Mr Onyeama, while commenting on the response of the Ghanaian authorities to the distress calls made by officials at the embassy, said the time it took for the response “is extremely troubling.”
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The Minister further said the traditional ruler in the area claimed that the property belonged to him, adding that there was no justification for the leader to take the law into his own hands.
The minister explained that he has already sought the security of the Nigerian embassy, its members of staff and all Nigerians in Ghana, stressing that Nigeria as a country also demanded reparations as quick as possible, among other demands.
He, however, added that the invasion and demolition of the buildings were carried out by non-state actors. Speaking on the efforts that have been made by the Ghanaian government, Mr Onyeama said the Ghanaian President had directed that all sealed shops belonging to Nigerian traders be opened to continue business.
He also noted that the Ghanian President promised decisive measures would be taken to settle the matter. In their response, members of the House of Representatives however, described the incident as “an attack on the country” adding that getting back at Ghana alone would be the most appropriate way to pass Nigeria’s message across in the strongest possible terms
In his reaction, the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, refused to be assuaged by the apology the minister said had been tendered to Nigeria by Ghana, stating that Nigeria must retaliate the attack on its sovereignty by Ghana.
The Speaker said, “It was not a building that was demolished, no; the Nigerian state was attacked. I think if we look at it from that premise, we will begin to understand or underscore the importance or gravity of what we are dealing with.
“In terms of immunity and inviolability, in terms of diplomacy, it also extends to property. We are not just talking about the states. It is trite that the embassy of any country is actually the state – a sovereign location in that particular foreign country.
“That is why if there is any problem in Nigeria today, all the Americans will run to the American Embassies to seek shelter, because you cannot even move near there.
So, from that point of view, we need to address this in that context that Nigeria was attacked. I’m not interested in the land dispute; it is not an ordinary land dispute. It is not! It has now metamorphosed into dispute between two countries, not by land owners.”
Gbajabiamila said if it were the United States’ embassy that was demolished in Ghana, “do we think the US would be talking about apology or ‘we will look into it’?” He also said the US and the United Kingdom would not have taken it lightly with Nigeria if their embassies were tampered with in Nigeria. Hon.Gbajabiamila said Ghana continues to take Nigeria for granted because there has never been a serious response from the country about the unresolved attacks on its sovereignty stressing that apology won’t suffice this time around.
The Speaker said, “It underscores the point that makes it even worse when we were told that this is the second time it is happening (in Ghana). It happened the first time and they got away with it. And of course they did it again.
“They get away with it this time, they will get away with it the third time. It is just a human behaviour. So, we have established a pattern and what we get is apology and ‘we will look into it.’ I don’t think that should suffice at this point.”
Gbajabiamila urged Onyeama to view the issue from the standpoint of the fact that the matter now entails a dispute between two countries “because that embassy represents Nigeria. Whoever did that did it under the colour of law.”
It would be recalled that Ghanaian President, Akufo Addo had called President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday to apologise on the vexatious incident.
