Nigerian actor and voice-over artist Segun Arinze has urged Nigerians in Ghana to respect the country’s sovereignty and laws.
Speaking on Hitz FM’s Daybreak Hitz with Doreen Avio and Kwame Dadzie on Thursday, 11 September 2025, Arinze cautioned against misconduct by foreigners.
“When you go to somebody’s country, the onus lies with you to respect the sanctity of that sovereignty,” he said.
He was reacting to recent controversy surrounding a Nigerian man reported to have plans of establishing an Igbo community in Ghana.
“I heard something last month about a Nigerian who wants to become an Igwe in Ghana. You leave your hometown in Nigeria, you come to Ghana and you want to become Igwe,” Arinze said.
“If I was around na hammer we for take hammer ein head,” he added.
A few months ago, Eze Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, also known as Eze Ndi Igbo Ghana or Eze Ohazurume I of Ndigbo in Ghana, was reported to have acquired 50 acres of land in Old Ningo, Greater Accra Region, to build an “Igbo village” or “Igbo kingdom.”
The reported plan included a palace, a 2,000-seat town hall, a 100-room guest house, a market, a school, streets named after Igbo figures, and a garden.
The Ga Traditional Council responded with a statement stressing it had never recognised Eze Ihenetu as a king within the Ga State and asked him to stop presenting himself as one. The Ningo Traditional Council also denied selling land to him for any such project.
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, warned him to respect Ghanaian laws and avoid divisive conduct.
Following public backlash, Eze Ihenetu issued statements denying that any land had been acquired or that there were plans to create an Igbo Village or Kingdom.
He explained that the rumours stemmed from a 2013 interview, shortly after his 2012 coronation, in which he shared visions that were later shelved.
He said the project was cancelled in 2014 and apologised to Ghanaians for any misunderstanding caused.
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