Don’t Abuse Ghanaian Hospitality

The Ashanti Regional Police Commander, ACP Frank Adu Poku, has cautioned foreigners against the abuse of Ghanaian hospitality.

He stated that while the police would not discriminate in offering adequate protection to foreigners, it would also not allow them to infringe the laws of the country with impunity.

He explained that in offering adequate security to the citizenry, including foreigners, the police are always mindful of collaborating with people who behaved decently, stressing that those who violate the laws of the land would be checked for sanity to prevail in society.

Addressing the executive members of the Nigerian Youth Association (NYA), who paid a courtesy call on him at the Regional Police Headquarters in Kumasi last Monday, ACP Adu Poku said that the police had cause to worry about people whose behaviour undermined the rule of law.

ACP Adu Poku said that while some Nigerians were leading decent lifestyles and collaborating effectively with the law enforcement agencies as well as the business community to enhance sustainable development, others were abusing the Ghanaian hospitality by indulging in violence and other criminal activities to disturb public peace.

He said the recent violent clash involving some Nigerian students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) leading to serious injuries among some of the students was a typical example of the negative activities of some Nigerians in Ghana.

ACP Adu Poku has observed that a section of Nigerians who reside in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs have taken to armed robbery and other fraudulent deals, thus creating a lot of insecurity among their peace-loving hosts.

“When you travel outside your country, there is the need for you to respect the laws of your host country, lead a decent lifestyle and engage in activities that would enhance the development of the country but you should not do anything that would undermine the peace and tranquillity of the host country”, he stressed.

He therefore urged the NYA to initiate moves that would educate their colleagues for them to lead lifestyles worthy of emulation.

This, he said, would change the perception in society that “Nigerians residing in the metropolis are not law-abiding”.

He added that although a few of their colleagues are indulging in negative activities, the public perceives the majority of Nigerians as law-abiding.

“You should not allow the few bad nuts among you to bring the name of Nigeria into disrepute. The time has come for you to erase the perception”, he advised.

He stressed that while it was the duty of the police to protect all citizens including Nigerians, “we will never spare any of you who flouts the laws of the land”.

The President of the NYA, Mr Eleazor Ogbo, gave the assurance that their members would always collaborate with the security agencies to flush out the few bad nuts among them, whose negative practices were creating the wrong impression about Nigerians.

He pointed out that many Nigerians had not only made Ghana their second home but were also involved in business ventures, contributing to the effective development of Ghana.

He said the negative activities of a small section of Nigerian students at KNUST had greatly affected the image of the NYA and gave further assurance that programmes would be initiated to call the bad nuts to order.

Among the executive members who visited the Regional Police Commander were Messrs Lawrence Chukwujiagha, Vice-President; Okpara Casmir, Secretary, and Ugochukwu Iheanachou, PRO.