Ghana has agreed to receive West African migrants deported from the United States, including Nigerians, marking a rare concession in the region as Washington pushes its hardline immigration agenda.
President John Dramani Mahama confirmed on Wednesday that a first group of 14 deportees, comprising Nigerians, a Gambian and others, had already landed in Accra. Ghanaian authorities are now facilitating their return to their home countries.
Mahama defended the move, saying fellow West Africans did not need visas to enter Ghana in the first place.
“We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed, and we agreed that West African nationals were acceptable because they don’t need visas to come to our country anyway,” he explained.
The arrangement underscores U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating deportation drive, which has seen migrants sent to countries such as Eswatini, South Sudan and Rwanda despite human rights concerns.
Nigeria, however, has rejected similar overtures, with Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar insisting in July that Abuja would not accept non-Nigerian deportees, citing security and economic concerns.
Trump also hosted five West African leaders, from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal, at the White House on July 9, where persuading them to accept deportees featured prominently on the agenda.
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