A former President of the Ghanaians-In-Nigeria grouping has taken issues with what he considers the undiplomatic and xenophobic treatment of matters concerning citizens of Nigeria who invest in Ghana.
Prince Begnaba Mba, who is now President of the Forum For National Equity, was reacting to a statement attributed to the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) boss in which he wondered how a Nigerian businesswoman could own a large parcel of beachfront land in the country.
Such a remark, according to him, does not augur well for our investment drive in the country adding that since Ghana struck oil, a certain touch of xenophobia is beginning to take hold of some people’s manner of speeches.
Such remarks in an interconnected world will soon create a bad image for us especially when they are made by government appointees.
A foreign national who has invested so much in the hospitality industry- Queens Atlantic Resorts- should not be subjected to the kind of remarks uttered by the NACOB boss, Prince Mba, told DAILY GUIDE in an interview.
Nigeria and Ghana share a lot in common besides being products of the British colonial system. He pointed out the intermarriages between the nationals of the two countries.
“Such disparaging remarks without cogent proof of malfeasance is most unfair especially against a person who invests so much in our country” he stressed.
With or without oil, Nigeria, he pointed out, remains a strong African force to reckon with in both economic and human resource terms.
There is a lot we can learn from the Nigerian spirit of dreaming big and achieving such goals, he said, adding “the Nigerian woman did not singly acquire the beachfront estate. The estate belongs to a company based in the US.”
If we seek investments in our country, he continued, we should avoid such remarks because as he put it “they have the tendency to scare potential investors in our part of the world. There are appropriate institutions for ascertaining the quality of investments and so whoever is apprehensive should call for the intervention of such bodies.”
In the December 17,2010 issue of the DAILY GUIDE, the NACOB Boss in a story headlined ‘NACOB Boss Names Cocaine Barons,’ the gentleman was quoted as wondering how $700,000 mansion could be built in a poor region adjacent to the Ghana/Togo border crossing and how a single Nigerian woman could buy a large parcel of beachfront property with nobody asking questions.
The Atlantic Resorts, Inc. is the brainchild of four principals and many associates who have formed a cohesive group with a niche for the hospitality industry.
The Oceanfront Resort Community in Great Ningo is being developed as a master-planned residential and commercial oceanfront community over twenty six separate areas estimated to be completed between 5 and 7 years.