Nigeria And Ghana: Some Youtbubers With Sterile Contents

African youbtubers are ridiculing the channel through their negative narratives on the rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana Francis Ewherido writes

I have been going to YouTube, specifically African YouTube channels, for a while now. I started with wildlife channels before adding travel channels and others. Initially, I really enjoyed the experience because it opened my eyes to the developments taking place in the rest of Africa.

 But since some people, especially young and inexperienced African YouTubers without set goals and knowledge of mass media ethics saw YouTube as an opportunity to earn a living entered the YouTube space, I have been put off.

The one that really got me pissed off and made my anger to boil over is the one I stumbled on with the topic: “Can a Nigerian marry or date a Ghanaian?” What a dumb question?

Before independence Ghanaians and Nigerians were already getting married to one another. One of the happiest couples I have met is a Ghanaian man and a Nigerian woman. Marriage is essentially about the people involved. Culture can be a factor, but the critical factor is the couple, especially if they understand marriage for what it is: companionship.

If two blind folded people were to have sex, for instance, without uttering a word, which will reveal their accent, can they tell from the feel of  the vagina or the penis their nationality, race or ethnicity? It is pre-existing biases and beliefs that colour or poison people’s minds.

Notwithstanding, love conquers all. Love is mysterious, once two souls connect genuinely, ethnicity or nationality take the back seat. That is why, interethnic, interracial and marriages across national borders endure.

Apart from the above topic, there is the obsession and continuous comparism of Nigeria and Ghana. Both countries have had a long time healthy rivalry in football, a sport where 11 players are pitched against each other. This makes comparism easy. Older Nigerians will never forget the heartbreak that Abedi Pele, the great Ghanaian and African player caused Nigerians. He played a major role each time the Black Stars of Ghana defeated the Green Eagles (as the Super Eagles were called then). The Green Eagles had great players, but Abedi Pele was exceptional

I see the comparism Nigeria jollof and Ghana jollof rice as fun, but the truth is, a great Nigerian cook will give you delicious jollof rice  while a lousy Nigerian cook will give you jollof rice that taste like paper. The same applies to Ghana. So, there is no rivalry there; it is just fun.

I was trained in journalism when the only mass media were print and electronic. They still remain the most reliable media to date.  So I decided to go there and verify the so called intense rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana, as the YouTubers portray. In the Nigerian Newspapers, there is scarcely any news on Ghana. I only saw one two-paragraph story on four Ghanaians resident in Nigeria, who were involved in some infractions.

Nigeria has enough internal issues to fill the newspapers of Nigeria. The last time news on Ghana featured prominently in Nigerian newspapers was when the Black Stars nicked Super Eagles to the 2022 World Cup ticket.

 The expulsion of Nigerians from Ghana in 1969 and Ghanaians from Nigeria in 1982 has nothing to do with rivalry. As far as I am concerned, it is due to the inexperience and wrong sense of judgement by the leadership of both countries at that time.

Do not forget that these leaders were very young then. I do acknowledge that the experience might have left a bitter taste, especially in the mouths of those who were affected. I recall my friend telling me how his father who was very rich in Ghana came back to Nigeria to start life all over again. The same story probably reverberates with some people in Ghana

Some Nigerians refer to Ghana as “ordinary Ghana” sometimes which Ghanaians find very upsetting. Ghanaians, on the other hand, never fail to remind Nigerians of how peaceful Ghana is and their more stable electricity.

They also taunt Nigerians about instability, erratic power supply, frequent disruption in school calendar and fraudsters.  In truth, many Nigerians have left Nigeria for Europe and other countries in Africa, including Ghana, for further education due to frequent strikes. The erratic electricity supply in Nigeria is a fact, but the truth is there no black African country enjoys uninterrupted electricity supply like we have in Europe and that should be every country’s target, not just stable power supply.

Some young Nigerians are involved in criminal activities in Ghana. This is making many Ghanaians angry. That is understandable, but they have laws to take care of that problem. There are a few reasons why young Nigerians go to Ghana. One, they talk about the peace and security in Ghana. Two, young Nigerians have herd mentality. Some youngsters disappear from Nigeria and reappear after a while. They have become very rich overnight. What did they do to make money? Nobody, including some parents, is interested. Rather peers just want to go Ghana and “blow.” It is later you will hear rumours that they did rituals and internet fraud.

I do not want to go into entertainment because Ghanaians who are the gurus in that sector acknowledge Nigerians dominance in music, comedy, films, etc. Nigeria is undisputed entertainment hub in Africa. These young Nigerians have gone beyond Africa to the global scene and are making waves.

So, which rivalry are these YouTubers hyping? I studied mass communication and decided to go to the traditional media and verify the rivalry. There is not much Ghanaian news in Nigeria’s newspapers and electronic media. I have never been to Ghana so I went online to see their newspapers. The stories on all the front pages of all the newspapers I saw were issues concerning Ghana. The only Nigeria-related stories I saw, and not even on the front page, were on one Nigerian cross dresser who recently opened a multi-million naira house and three Nigerians arrested for alleged involvement in internet fraud.

I also watched a few television programmes on Ghana television stations. On entertainment, some downplay the giant strides Nigeria has made in entertainment, while others readily acknowledge it and advise Ghanaian entertainers to find out what Nigeria is doing right.

Generally, they are not happy about the state of the Ghana entertainment industry. That is fair enough. So where did all these YouTubers get this the rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana from? They are just trying to get more subscribers and drive traffic to their channels. Unfortunately, they are also irritating some readers/viewers.

 Personally, I want to see the growth and development in other African countries, not non-existent rivalry. I want every African country to grow so that Africa can be like Europe. How does the non-development of other African countries help Nigeria? These ill-trained YouTubers should the study other successful YouTubers on how to be successful.

They should come up with irresistible contents and not promoting hate and non-existent rivalry. Also, Nigerian YouTubers based outside Nigeria, should leave Nigerians at home alone, and just enjoy their lives wherever they are, while we grapple with our challenges and look for solutions, we are tired of noisemakers; what we need are solution providers, not people who devalue us in their countries of abode. If you cannot add value, leave us alone.

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