Ghana Must Go: What You Might Not Know Exactly 40 Years Ago

In 1983, more than a million Ghanaians were told to leave Nigeria and go back to Ghana. This started the "Ghana Must Go" movement.

How It All Began

Ghana's Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia passed the "Ghana Aliens Compliance Order" in 1969. This law told 3 million Nigerians and other African and non-African immigrants to leave the country, even though they made up 20% of the population at the time.

In January 1983, President Shehu Shagari signed an order to kick out two million illegal West African immigrants, of whom more than half were from Ghana.

The order was supposedly made because of religious riots that happened in 1980 (the Kano Riots) and 1981 in some parts of the country.

Why were so many people sent away?

The oil boom of the 1970s brought these people from West Africa to Nigeria, but by 1983, the economy was getting worse and it was election time.

Nigerian politicians hoped that the decision to kick them out would be welcomed.

Up to two million migrants in Nigeria were told that if they didn't follow the rules, they would be arrested, charged, and sent back home against their will.



How Nigeria kicked out Ghanaians



They tried to get out of the country as quickly as possible by putting as much as they could into trucks, cars, pick-up trucks, and taxis.



West, through Benin and Togo, was the main way to get to Ghana. After a failed coup attempt the year before, President Jerry John Rawlings closed Ghana's mainland border (Aflao) with Togo, and Togo then closed its border with Benin to stop people from coming back all at once.



So, when the returnees got to Benin, they didn't have many choices. They had to stay in the port of Cotonou and hope to find a boat to Ghana.



At the border between Benin and Togo, two small African countries, tens of thousands of refugees, most of them from Ghana, gathered.

The road back to Ghana was completely blocked by vehicles and a crowd of refugees, and the border was still closed for now.

Life After Being Sent Away

Ghana's government had good reason to worry that the country, which had about 12 million people at the time, would not be able to handle such a large number of people.

The country's economy was already in bad shape at the time. Food was hard to get. Bushfires and a severe drought happened.

After being stuck for more than a week, during which time many ran out of money and went hungry, Ghana reopened its borders. This made Togo do the same, so Ghanaians could go back home.

Bags for Ghana Must Go

"Ghana Must Go" was the name given to a type of large, cheap, matt-woven nylon striped bag that the migrants used to carry their things back to Ghana.

In Nigeria, Ghana, and other West African countries, the bags are still very popular.

The relationship between Ghana and Nigeria has grown stronger over time.

Credit: ghpage

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