History Behind The Ghana Must Go Bags

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE GHANA MUST GO BAGS

It all started when prices of the oil in Nigeria dropped and there was hardship in Nigeria. People from most African countries were deported back to their countries(including 700,000 Ghanaians)
One thing about them was that, they were all seen in a particular type of bag that was either red or blue checked.

copyright: Facebook

GHANA MUST GO !!!
Ghanaians being deported from the ship deck in Lagos on Feb 2, 1983 as they prepare to sail back to their country..While insightful about migration in general, Ghana Must Go (the title refers both to the 1983 episode when Ghanaians were expelled from Nigeria..
In the 1970s, Ghana was facing a lot of economic hardship, just about the same time Nigeria had an oil boom, Nigeria’s economy was flourishing. Citizens of some West African countries (mostly Ghanaians) flocked into Nigeria in search of pastures green. In the early 1980s the oil boom somewhat subsided and there was also economic downturn in Nigeria due to low oil prices, jobs were no longer readily available even for Nigerians.

The Federal Government decided that the Ghanaians and other African migrants had overstayed their welcome. The Nigerian government enacted an expulsion order in 1983, about 700,000 Ghanaians were returned to their country. The Ghanaians during the exodus used a peculiar type of bag to move their belongings; the bags were popularly termed by Nigerians as ‘GHANA MUST GO’ bags.

Source: Alexandra Dankwa (Facebook)