TIG Post

Tag: Ghana and Nigeria

  • Getting sponsorship for gospel music in Ghana is easier than it is in Nigeria – Gospel Singer Pita

    Getting sponsorship for gospel music in Ghana is easier than it is in Nigeria – Gospel Singer Pita

    Nigerian gospel singer Pita has pointed out the differences in how gospel music is supported in Ghana and Nigeria.

    Speaking with Doreen Avio on Daybreak Hitz, he praised Ghana for creating a welcoming and encouraging space for gospel musicians.

    “That’s one of the things I love about Ghana. Ghana is a country that really supports the gospel. In Nigeria, it’s a little bit different to get corporate sponsorship for gospel stuff, because they keep saying it’s a secular nation, we don’t do this. But here, I see some brands put their names to gospel stuff for us in the gospel space. In Nigeria, it’s a challenge,” he said.

    He emphasized the need for gospel artistes and Christians in the creative space to develop better structures for their work.

    “Gospel artistes, Christians in the creative space, we need to put structures in what we do,” he stated.

    Pita also compared the airplay of Christian music in both countries.

    “You guys play Christian music throughout the day, but in Nigeria, you wait for Sunday. And some stations (in Nigeria), they can’t wait—once they play your music from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., their body is shaking, they want to start playing their secular… they move on,” he noted.

    Beyond music, Pita also shared his impressions of Ghanaian culture.

    “Ghanaians are very polite people, well-mannered, and well-cultured. Ghana is expensive now o,” he asserted.

    Meanwhile, Pita held The Gratitude Concert on March 16, 2025, at the Keepers House Chapel in Accra, Ghana.

  • Ghana, Nigeria rivalry outmoded; cites AfCFTA – Mark Okraku-Mantey

    The Deputy Minister for Tourism Arts and Culture, Mr. Mark Okraku-Mantey, has said the rivalry between Ghana and Nigeria’s creative industry is outmoded and must rather be replaced with increased collaboration.

    A creative arts industry notable, he asserted the rivalry is counterproductive.

    “I hear this conversation on Ghana and Nigeria. Are we not tired of asking the same question for far too long?” he asked.

    “The truth is that the thing between Ghana and Nigeria is outmoded,” he admonished.

    “We are supposed to talk about how our collaborations can [push] us forward and not the competition between Ghana and Nigeria,” he noted.

    To buttress his call for collaboration and urgent ceasing of unhealthy competition between Ghana and Nigeria, he cited the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

    “We have signed a treaty called the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which means that Africans are supposed to work together. Now we are even breaking the boundaries of the countries. 55 countries signed this treaty and Ghana signed first.”

    Mr Okraku-Mantey who said this on Accra-based Hitz FM, opined that if there should be any competition it should be between Africa and the world beyond it and not within the continent itself.

    “I think I am here to make that conversation rest. Let’s begin to think of how to do more things together to compete against other parts of the world.”

    Source:ghanaweb.com

  • Super Cup between Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak moved to September 5

    The Ghana Football Association has moved the Super Cup from Sunday, September 4 to Monday, September 5, 2022.

    This is due to the crucial CHAN qualifier between Ghana and Nigeria which are fixed for Cape Coast and Abuja respectively.

    The 1st leg will take place on Sunday, August 28 while the 2nd leg is scheduled for the Moshood Abeola stadium in Abuja on Saturday, September 3, 2022.

    The Porcupine Warriors who won the 2021/22 Ghana Premier League will aim for the bragging rights against arch rivals and record FA Cup holders Accra Hearts of Oak in the battle of supremacy at the Baba Yara Sports stadium in Kumasi.

    The Champion of Champions is the traditional curtain raiser for the 2022/23 betPawa Premier League season which is set to kick off on the weekend of 9-12, September 2022.

    Source:footballghana.com

     

  • Ghana, Nigeria propose joint council to address bilateral trade issues

    Ghana and Nigeria are proposing a joint business council that would govern matters of trade and investment between the two countries.

    The initiative is as a result of the recent high-level exchanges between the two West African neighbours over the closure of Nigerian owned alleged to have breached Ghana’s domestic investment laws.

    The proposal was disclosed when the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Femi Gbajabiamila called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, Accra on Thursday.

    Mr Gbajabiamila, who is at the head of a Nigerian delegation, was on a two-day visit to Ghana to hold talks with his Ghanaian counterpart, Speaker Prof. Mike Aaron Ocquaye, on relations between the two nations following the implementation of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act 2013, Act 865, which Nigerian traders in Ghana say was inimical to their businesses.

    Mr Gbajabiamila noted that perceived frosty relations between Ghana and Nigeria were mere “chatters” due to “misconceptions and misinformation” by people as to the real issues of Nigerians in Ghana.

    He said the relations and bonds of friendship forged over decades between the two countries, should not be allowed to wither because of misunderstandings and difficulties that could be resolved amicably through dialogue.

    The Nigerian House of Representatives Speaker told the President that since his arrival in the country, he and his delegation had met and educated a section of the Nigerian community in Ghana on some of the misconceptions they held which had generated the impasse between the two nations.

    He noted that during their discussions with officials of the Ghanaian Legislature, both sides resolved to undertake the necessary actions to maintain the cordiality between the two nations, because “there cannot be a talk on Africa without a mention of Nigeria and Ghana.”

    “It is that combination of strength that we seek to protect, not just for today, but for tomorrow and the future moving forward,“ he said and appealed to the President to have the GIPC Act 865 reviewed to enable his countrymen and women trading in Ghana to meet the demands of the law.

    Mr Gbajabiamila suggested a Ghana – Nigeria business council backed by legislation by both countries as the roadmap for a successful trade and business regime between the two countries.

    “There is nothing as good as a bilateral trade agreement backed by two countries to give better results,“ he noted, appealed again to the President to give critical attention to the outcome of discussions that he had with the Ghanaian legislature in order to sustain the enviable relations between both nations.

    On his part, President Akufo-Addo made reference to the strong historical relations between Ghana and Nigeria, which continued to wax stronger.

    He said that he was alarmed by the tone and issues that emerged in the statement that was issued by the Nigerian information minister, and had to.speak to the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari immediately when the matter came up to find a solution to the issue

    The President said it was heartwarming that officials of both countries, in the spirit of maintaining the friendship between Ghana and Nigeria, had gotten together to chart a way forward.

    He praised the suggestion for the setting up of a Ghana/Nigeria Business Council to oversee the trade and investment matters between the two countries, saying, “It may well be long overdue, but the time has come for it to be done and I think it is a worthwhile step that is being taken.“

    The President told the delegation that he had in discussions with his Nigerian counterpart mooted the idea of setting up a Joint Ministerial Committee to shepherd issues between the two countries and report outcomes to both presidents on how matters should be resolved.

    He said he hoped to advance that discussion to a conclusion when he meets President Buhari the ECOWAS Summit in Niamey, Niger next Monday,

    The President told the delegation that the government of Ghana took the concerns raised by Nigeria seriously and would seek a common ground to address the challenges.

    “The review that you are asking for makes a lot of sense for our mutual prosperity, the request would be treated seriously…It is important that we preserve what has been built if we cannot enhance it,” he said.

    President Akufo-Addo assured the Nigerian delegation of the safety of Nigerians in Ghana, many of whom have lived in the country for decades without any problems.

    “That culture of cooperation and brotherliness will continue…Whatever initial problems we have will be resolved,” he said.

    Source: GNA

  • Rights group laments illegal detention of 35 Nigerians in Ghana

    The Concerned Citizens Rights (CCR), a human rights organisation, has alleged that no fewer than 35 Nigerians are illegally detained in Ghana

    This was contained in a letter its National President, Dr Olusegun Adeola addressed to the Chairman, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NiDCM), Abike Dabiri on June 26, detailing the plight of Nigerians in Ghana.

    The letter, which was copied to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, Ghana High Commission and Consulate-General in Nigeria, said Nigerians were languishing in Aflao, a Ghanaian border with Togo Republic.

    It lamented the level of maltreatment being allegedly meted to the victims along the Ghana-Togo border, where many citizens “are currently languishing in detention with no hope of being released despite their pathetic situation.”

    The letter urged NiDCM and the Ghana High Commission and Consulate-General in Abuja and Lagos to use their good offices to intervene and secure the immediate release of these hapless Nigerians.

    The letter read in part: “Available information corroborated the fact that about 35 Nigerians are currently detained some, for more than 45 days in unsanitary conditions in the arrival hall and other locations, which can better be described as ‘concentration camps.’ They sleep on bare concrete floors without food, and with just one toilet for all genders.

    “To make matters worse, both men and women are cramped in one camp, sleeping together in flagrant violation of the detention code and convention. Under the facade of safekeeping, the immigration officers seized huge sums of money from merchants and traders among them.

    “While being held incommunicado, they were made to pay 300 Cedis each under duress to the immigration officers. Their phones and ECOWAS Passports were seized and without the opportunity of reaching out to members of their family since they left home, who may not even know their whereabouts, situations and circumstances currently.

    “During the investigation, we gathered that when some frustrated ones among the detainees complained after 30 days in detention, they were beaten and tortured. They were told their offence was entering Ghana illegally, even when there was unfettered movement across borders as contained in the ECOWAS charter that bonded member states.

    “These are people who have always seen Ghana as a sister country to Nigeria and who have previously been coming in and out of Ghana on business trips, believing they are covered under the ECOWAS Protocol Agreements.”

    The letter said no matter the magnitude of the offences or crimes committed, it was wrong for those Nigerians to be treated in such crude, brutish, inhumane and inhuman conditions like making fellow human beings sleep on concrete floors for weeks and months without food.

    The letter noted that the victims “daily buy their own foods and some are running out of money. Their treatment has nothing to do with COVID-19 because they have been tested and found negative for weeks and still kept together without social distancing and even face masks.”

     

    Source: allafrica.com