GHANA MUST GO

Nearly at wits’ end on how to resolve the myriad issues facing the Nigerian economy in the early ‘80s, the Shehu Shagari led administration experimented with a number of reform programs aimed at improving the lot of Nigerians. One of which was to expel unskilled and semi-skilled foreigners working in the country without valid residence or work permit.

Pres. Shehu Shagari at a rally

About 2 million immigrants were affected by the exercise which was wildly condemned by the international community, and did sever diplomatic relations between Nigeria and her West African neighbors.

immigrants leaving the country

The fact that little evidence exist to suggest that any far- reaching economic benefits stemmed from the exercise, has led many to believe that the government-sponsored expulsion was simply in retaliation for a similar policy enforced in Ghana in 1969. 

While many account of the exercise wrongly refer to it as the expulsion of Ghanaians from Nigeria (perhaps understandably, due to the fact that 75% of the immigrants affected where from Ghana), immigrants from several West African countries were also affected. 

The reasons put forward by the government in reaching the decision were quite cogent (at least to the average Nigerian of the time; suffering the effect of a slump in the local economy): illegal aliens were not only taking up the large chunk of the few available jobs to the detriment of Nigerians, but some were also involved in criminal activities.

The eviction announcement was made on January 17, 1983, and was to be enforced within two weeks. Evicting almost 2 million people in 2 weeks would, under any circumstance have attendant logistic challenges. Amid the ensuing frenzy and widespread confusion, a number of the evictees suffered injuries, work place injustice, and extortion at the hands of border and law enforcement officials. Disease outbreaks and malnutrition plagued the foreigners as they crowded the port in Lagos awaiting evacuation, and some unconfirmed report had it that people lost their lives to stampedes while rushing to board overstretched transport services.

Few months after the expulsion exercise, the Nigerian government discovered that some of the deported immigrants were finding their way back to the country through her porous land border. In 1985 the then government led by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari repeated the grueling exercise quite to the surprise of the countries still aggravated by the 1983 incident. However the 1985 exercise was markedly benevolent and the aliens were giving about four weeks to process their residency papers or leave the country. 

Unfortunately, the same tragedies that befell the 1983 exercise resurfaced, as most of the immigrants (again predominantly Ghanaians) failed to leave the country or regularize their immigration papers before the deadline. 

Gen. Muhammadu Buhari

‘Ghana-Must-Go’ became a popular chant among Nigerians during the ‘80s suggesting the measure of enthusiasm with which they welcomed the expulsion of their West African neighbors. The cheap but rugged red and blue checked bags in which a large number of the evictees carried their luggage would later, and to this day, bear the intolerant chant as a name.

Some designers have gone ahead into making wears with it.

It is something I believe will be here for a long time.