Ghana and Nigeria are very good neighbours, but the two countries are always at war in different facets of life. Though the countries have different tribes and cultures, we all thrive on a common language of pidgin which has led to BBC broadcasting in Pidgin English. Our foods are also similar, with Jollof being the bone of contention.
Writing this article as Ghanaian, I would be biased to say that Ghana Jollof is the best with no competition on the continent. When it comes to music, Ghana and Nigeria are ambassadors of Hiplife and Afrobeat respectively. I always say music from these two countries is arguably the biggest export to the Western world of all the natural resources these two countries control.
However, the generational war has always been with football. When Ghana and Nigeria are about to play, to us it’s like the World Cup final. The bragging rights and passion to win from the players to supporters are unimaginable.
According to the BBC, Ghana and Nigeria have played 56 times with Ghana winning 25 times, Nigeria winning only 12 times with the two countries drawing 19 times. The most recent one was when Ghana triumphed over Nigeria to qualify for Qatar 2022. Looking at Ghana with a population of just over 30 million – compared to Nigeria with a population of over 200 million – but always competing with Nigeria aggressively should tell you that Ghana means business when it comes to Nigeria.
On the migration front, a lot of Nigerians migrated to Ghana after Ghana’s independence in 1957. The former prime minister, Kofi Abrefa Busia, deported Nigerians for not complying with the immigration laws. Ghanaians also migrated to Nigeria in the late 1970s to seek greener pastures.
This was like travelling to the Western world as Nigeria was economically vibrant with opportunities in different fields, especially teaching. Ghanaians were deported in 1983 due to an executive order by the then president of Nigeria, President Shehu Shagari. Among the 2 million migrants that were deported, there were around 1 million Ghanaians. These were Ghanaians that had built their lives in Nigeria. Many came back in what we call the ‘Ghana Must Go’ bags. This should tell you Ghana and Nigeria’s relationship has gone through good and bad times.
In recent times – and that means around the early 2000s during the era of former President Agyekum Kufuor when Ghana joined HIPC and all its debt were wiped out – the country started to be economically vibrant. This attracted a lot of Nigerians to Ghana. I can say a lot of Nigerians are settled in Ghana as I write this article. Some have even married our beautiful women and settled well, with them with some speaking the local language as if they had lived in Ghana all their lives.
However, this generation of Nigerians living in Ghana – mostly entrepreneurs and business owners – have always sparked a conflict with their Ghanaian counterparts regarding business. My first experience was when I was running my business in Kumasi around 2007. Our suppliers initially were Ghanaians. Their price point and how they transact businesses were completely different from their Nigerian counterparts.
The Nigerians’ market penetration strategy has always been low pricing complemented by good customer service. The mindset of a Nigerian per my experience is to always strategically position themselves to sell more with lower prices. This is contrary to their Ghanaian counterparts.
The Ghanaian always wants to make a ‘kill’ in terms of profit from one transaction or the other. It’s either they double the price, or make it far more expensive to maximise their profit margins. This means Nigerians sell their products faster than typical Ghanaian business owners. This price-war has always created tension between the two countries in Ghana.
In the spare-parts industry in Ghana, Nigerians are gradually dominating the market because of their pricing. This has led to countless demonstrations by Ghanaian spare-parts dealers to stop Nigerians from operating. I recently enquired about the engine of a Chevy Trax. The Ghanaian at Abossey Okai quoted GH¢35,000 and so I decided to enquire about the price at Kumasi. I was shocked as the price was GH¢55,000 because normally prices in Kumasi are lower than in Accra. I asked why, and he said the engine is scarce. This huge price disparity would not happen in the Nigerian business community in Ghana. For example, before Nigerians came into the phone accessory market, a common headphone could cost you about GH¢50. Today, with the same quality, you can get the product between GH¢15 and GH¢20.
The business-mindedness of Nigerians is parallel to that of a Ghanaian. I quite remember a few years back I went to fix my Audi at Abossey Okai. As the mechanic was fixing the car, a guy came to me and said and I quote, “Oga, this your car, I have the spare-parts so if you need any help; this is my shop”.
When the mechanic diagnosed the fault, I went straight to the Nigerian who established contact with me earlier. The interesting aspect is that workers at the Ghanaian shops who were close to the Nigerian were busy playing drafts. These Nigerians mean business. They are ready to serve and ensure they provide good service at a convenient price to sell their products faster.
Look at how the Nigerian banks brought innovation to the Ghanaian market. The likes of UBA, Zenith, Access Bank etc. were the ones that introduced cashless bank accounts in Ghana. What the Nigerian banks were saying was, open a bank account without any deposit and when you have money at any time, you can put it in the account.
At the time, it was so difficult to open a bank account in Ghana. The requirements and the deposit you needed to open an account meant it was difficult for the ordinary person to open one. This caused an awakening in the traditional banks of Ghana to start being innovative, and be flexible toward their customers and potential clients.
What has even triggered this article is the recent incident wherein some Makola women disrupted the yearly sales of Nigerian businesswoman, Dr. Chi – who specialises in wigs, human hair and extensions.
According to Ghanaweb, market researchers say the US$6billion figure quoted on how the wigs, human hair and extension are worth for Africa’s market is an understatement. The Makola women demanded that Dr. Chi should stop the sales because of how heavily it is discounted.
What Ghanaian entrepreneurs or business owners must know is that we are living in an age when disruption through innovative ideas, especially via technology, is changing our world. For example, Uber has no offices across the globe; they don’t own taxis, but they have disrupted the taxi business across the globe. What Nigerians are doing in Ghana is what I call traditional innovation. That is, selling at discounted prices to sell more – which anyone at all could do.
Upon discussing this tension between the Makola Market women and Dr. Chi with a colleague, he said the Nigerians use dubious means and they always break the law to sell their products. I don’t know how far that is true, but if that is the case then government must look into it. I also spoke to a Nigerian friend of mine, and he said Ghanaians should stop fighting Nigerians because the worst culprits are the Lebanese, Chinese and Oyibos.
I came in peace because I have lived in London for a long time, and I have experienced how different cultures can live in peace and transact business. What we need to do as people is to be tolerant but firm in making sure the right thing is done. The work of government is to make sure that we co-exist in an environment that is fair to everyone.
It’s about time we learned from the Nigerians in terms of their swiftness in doing business while they continue learning from us how to play football and cook sumptuous Jollof. Lol!
Remember my hashtag, #itspossibleifonlyyoubelieve.
>>>the writer is author of Mindset Revolution: Re-engineering your Mind from Prison to Purpose; Corporate Trainer on Mindset Transformation, Productivity Mindset Development and Attitudinal Change at the Workplace. Visit www.oscarbimpong.com
