The President of the Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) Chief Chukwuemeka Nnaji has challenged the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to build and control their own market instead of disrupting businesses of others.
In an interview on Happy FM’s ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ with Kwame Afrifa Mensah, the NUTAG President stated: “let me call GUTA’s attention to this. If they are talking about markets, Nigerian traders build their own markets with their own money and that is what they can control. Let GUTA go and build their market. It will be understandable if GUTA locks up markets they built with their own money. They can also choose not to rent out shops to Nigerians. But they [GUTA] should not lock up private shops belonging to private individuals. It is not right.”
According to Chief Emeka, GUTA locking up private shops is in conflict with the trade clause that talks about businesses belonging to private investors. “GUTA shouldn’t be controlling somebody’s house or business. It conflicts with the clause about businesses belonging to private investors. You go and lock up a shop a man has rented saying nobody should be there. Are you the one who gave him the money to rent the shop? Is it not Ghanaians who rent out the shops to us?” He queried.
He made known that some of the closed down shops belong to private Ghanaian families renting out the stores in front of their houses to feed their families. He also noted that it was wrong for those shops to be locked.
He emphatically made known that the private shops are being locked because of the tolerant nature of Ghanaian landlords. “We are in Ghanaian owned shops and you are locking up these shops because these Ghanaians are understanding. If you do that to me, I will arrest you because it is not your shop. GUTA should go and build their market, control it and allow us to be.”
On Monday, some Ghanaian traders took to the shopping district of Tiptoe Lane in Circle to lock up shops of Nigerians engaged in retail trading.
By: Joel Sanco