Calistus Elazieuwa
THE NIGERIAN community in Ghana has been advised to respect the laws of their host country and exhibit greater tolerance to promote unity as long as they live in the country and earn a living.
Chief Calistus Elazieuwa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), who gave the advice in an interview with the media in Accra on Monday, urged Nigerians in Ghana to comport themselves and stay away from any conduct which is considered illegal in the country.
He reiterated that Nigerians in Ghana must live peacefully and continue to be law-abiding, as Ghana is a peaceful country.
Chief Elazieuwa also admonished them to be disciplined and exhibit high moral standards to prevent any feud with the Ghanaian community.
“My Nigerian people must note that is not a safe haven for them to commit crimes, the laws of Ghana must be respected if you want to live peacefully in Ghana, then stay away from criminality. Nigerians should endeavour to maintain peace and order, so as to keep Nigerians’ name clean,” he added.
He commended the Akufo-Addo-led government on its flagship programmes, particularly the One District One Factory (1D1F) project. He called on President Akufo-Addo to open equal opportunities for the Nigerian community to benefit from his initiatives.
“Nana Addo, over the years, as President has done well for Ghana with his social intervention, One District One Factory among other initiatives which has improved the living standards of the ordinary Ghanaians. I plead with the government to also open opportunities for our Nigerians in the country,” he said.
Speaking on government’s digitisation drive and SIM card re-registration, Chief Elazieuwa indicated that the digitalisation was a noble idea that must be encouraged.
“The digitalisation programme by the government will help to check criminality, but the cost to the members of ECOWAS community is too high, we have to pay $120 to obtain non citizenship identity cards before you can even buy a SIM card even if you have only one month to stay in Ghana.
“That really, is unfair, I think for those who are just visiting, they should be allowed to buy SIM with their international passports,” he added.
Chief Elazieuwa, in his closing remarks, called for unity between African countries in Ghana, saying, “We can grow beyond aid if we stay united as one Africa.”
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke