Why Nigeria’s success is important to Ghana – Mahama

By Lawrence Agbo

Ghanaian President John Mahama has explained why Nigeria’s economic and political stability is critical to Ghana, saying the prosperity of Africa’s most populous nation directly affects regional security and migration patterns in West Africa.

Speaking at the 4th African Heritage Awards in Accra on April 11, Mahama said Ghana has a vested interest in seeing Nigeria thrive because instability in Nigeria places pressure on neighbouring countries, including Ghana.

“If Nigeria does well, Ghana does well,” Mahama said. “When you have cousins, 250 million of them, you want them to do well so that one million of them don’t come drifting towards a small country like Ghana.”

He added that he prays daily for Nigeria’s progress, stressing that both nations are deeply linked by history, migration, and shared ancestry.

“A lot of the people in Ghana migrated from Nigeria. They find their roots in the Yoruba kingdoms… Nigeria is of keen security interest to us,” he said.

Describing Ghana and Nigeria as “twins of the same mother,” Mahama said the relationship between the two countries goes beyond diplomacy, touching on culture, trade, and regional peace.

Beyond bilateral concerns, the Ghanaian leader used the occasion to call for broader African economic reforms, urging the continent to rethink how it manages natural resources and reduce dependence on foreign concessions.

Mahama argued that Africa must use its vast natural wealth to create prosperity for its people, warning that the era of granting excessive benefits to foreign companies while Africans remain impoverished must come to an end.

“Africa cannot sit with a cup in hand and go begging. One of the major assets we have is what nature gave us. We didn’t put the gold in the ground, we didn’t put the lithium in the ground, we didn’t put the oil and gas in the ground.

“God gave it to us, and so like I’ve said in many places, those days of huge concessions gifted to foreign companies and set up huge you know rich enclaves next to African poverty where there’s no clean drinking water, those days are coming to an end,” he said.

He also praised the African Continental Free Trade Area as a major opportunity for strengthening trade among African nations and building shared prosperity across the continent.

“We must take advantage of what God has gifted us to make sure that we’re able to create prosperity for our people, and we can do it.

“We started with the African continental free trade area, we do have teething problems, but I’m sure that it’s a good sign. Already, we can see that trade between our countries is increasing, and so we do have the capacity to be able to create prosperity for our people and dignity,” he added.