Raphael Kanu
Ghana has agreed to receive West African nationals deported from the United States, including Nigerians, under a controversial new arrangement spearheaded by Washington.
President John Dramani Mahama confirmed on Wednesday that the first batch of 14 deportees — made up of Nigerians, a Gambian, and other West Africans — had already arrived in Accra. Ghanaian authorities, he said, were facilitating their safe passage back to their respective home countries.
“We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from America,” Mahama disclosed. “We agreed because all our fellow West Africans don’t need a visa to come to Ghana anyway.”
The deal comes as the Trump administration intensifies its deportation campaign, targeting migrants for transfer to so-called “third countries” as part of its hardline immigration policy. Similar deportation arrangements have previously sent migrants to Eswatini, South Sudan, and Rwanda — moves that rights groups have condemned as unsafe and inhumane.
Nigeria, however, has rejected Washington’s overtures. Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar declared in July that Abuja would not accept deportees who are not Nigerian citizens, citing national security and economic concerns.
Despite such resistance, Trump has kept up diplomatic pressure on the region. On July 9, he hosted five West African leaders — from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal — at the White House, with one of the key agenda points being persuading them to receive deportees from outside their borders.
The arrangement has drawn mixed reactions across West Africa. While Ghana positions itself as a regional safe haven, critics warn that the policy risks turning parts of Africa into a dumping ground for migrants unwanted by the US.