Nigeria and Ghana have resolved to strengthen bilateral cooperation in combating xenophobia, Afrophobia, intolerance, and violence targeting fellow Africans.
This commitment was made during a bilateral meeting between Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, and Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Ablakwa, on the sidelines of the ongoing ECOWAS Mid-Year Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone (July 12–19).
In a statement issued in Abuja by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the two ministers condemned acts of violence against Africans, describing them as contrary to the principles of Pan-Africanism and the continent’s collective progress.
The ministers called for urgent, coordinated regional and continental action to address the root causes of Afrophobic protests, protect the lives and dignity of African migrants, and foster harmonious coexistence. They stressed that criminals within migrant communities should be dealt with through due process under the rule of law, rather than through mob violence that often affects innocent and law-abiding Africans.
Both countries agreed to prioritize the issue of Afrophobia on the agenda of the next African Union Summit. They also pledged to work with other like-minded African nations to strengthen AU mechanisms, including improved monitoring, early warning systems, and preventive diplomacy to prevent future incidents.
Ambassador Enikanolaiye commended Ghana’s prompt response to the meeting request and praised the strong bilateral relations between the two nations. He emphasized the importance of enhanced collaboration, strategic consultation, and preventive diplomacy to resolve potential irritants before they escalate.
He conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s greetings to Ghanaian President John Mahama and lauded Ghana’s leadership in championing Pan-Africanism, including its advocacy for reparations for Africa and people of African descent for the historical injustices of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and colonialism. Enikanolaiye congratulated President Mahama on the landmark UN resolution on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Ghana’s recent hosting of the Next Steps High-Level Conference, reaffirming Nigeria’s full support for reparative justice efforts.
In response, Minister Ablakwa congratulated Enikanolaiye on his recent appointment and echoed the call for sustained Nigeria-Ghana collaboration. He advocated for action-oriented preventive diplomacy through direct, bureaucracy-free communication between the two brotherly nations.