Communiqué issued by Penpushing media on the recent demolition of Nigeria’s embassy in Ghana

The recent demolition of a portion of the building of the Nigerian Embassy in Ghana had been in the news and consequently sparked a gale of commentaries and condemnation from a cross section of Nigerians and the diplomatic community who viewed the action as condemnable and  should be handled seriously by the Nigerian government to avert a recurrence.

The Penpushing Editorial team, comprising key political actors, professionals of diverse backgrounds and eminent traditional rulers, deliberated on the development and came up with the following views on the raging diplomatic conflict:

Penpushing condemns the demolition as a reckless act of aggression and considers it as a brazen infringement of international law that recognizes immunity and diplomatic cover of foreign embassies, noting that the action could undermine the long standing brotherly  relationship between both countries if urgent steps were not taken.

It urges the Federal Government of Nigeria  to urgently set up a fact finding  mission to investigate the cause of the action, in view of the potential threat that the action posed to the long standing  diplomatic relations between the two countries, who shared the same heritage as both English speaking countries and earliest to gain political independence in Africa.

It holds that a thorough investigation will unravel the truth about the land, the concept of the demolished building which is seen by some as undiplomatic and the tacit support or otherwise of Accra having collected financial payment on the said land.

Penpushing media team advises the Federal Government to critically look at the procurement of the said land and the building to ensure that they conform to the extant land policies of the host country regarding such acquisition and building. This should serve as a guide and precedence for the country’s asset acquisition in all its diplomatic posts all over the world.

It is of the view that the federal government should utilize the opportunity of the current diplomatic conflict to reappraise relationship with Ghana, in the light of growing hostilities between both countries, in order to avert graver conflicts and consequential humiliation of Nigerians as witnessed in some other countries where they are domiciled.

In the event of the resolution of the conflict, Penpushing counsels that the Nigerian government must demand a public apology and an undertaking that such act of diplomatic aggression would not recur, with justice seen to have been served on all those culpable in  the shameful act.

For now, the Nigerian government and Nigerians must be circumspect and refrain from escalating the issue, in order to preclude a frosty relationship between both countries which could whittle down  the level of socio-economic relationships between citizens and corporate entities of both countries.

Penpushing Media asks the government to work out in clear terms a frame work for its foreign policy to provide parameters for immediate intervention in future acts of humiliation, infringement or unfavourable actions against the country or its citizens