Deportation of West African migrants from Nigeria

"Ghana Must Go" redirects here. For other uses, see Ghana Must Go (disambiguation).

The deportation of West African migrants from Nigeria occurred following a January 1983 executive order from President Shehu Shagari, which forced illegal immigrants to leave the country or face arrest. As a result of Shagari's order, over two million migrants were deported, including one million Ghanaian nationals.[1]

History

Many of the migrants had been attracted to Nigeria because of the 1970s oil boom, but by 1983 the economy had weakened.[2] Shagari's order was in alleged response to the religious disturbances that had engulfed parts of the country in 1980 (known as the Kano Riots) and 1981.[3] Prior to 1983, the expulsions of immigrants had occurred several times in West Africa for various reasons.[4][5] These include Ghana's deportation of Nigerians in 1954 and 1969 and Togo's deportation of nationals from Côte d'Ivoire, Dahomey, and Nigeria in 1958.[4][5]

Conditions for migrants

The primary route to Ghana was westwards, passing through Benin and Togo. Because of an attempted coup the previous year, the President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, had closed the main land crossing with Togo, and to avoid a sudden influx of returnees, Togo then also shut its borders with Benin. Therefore, once the migrants reached Benin, the way out was restricted and they were forced to remain in the port of Cotonou, the country's seat of government, attempting to find a boat to Ghana. After they had been stranded for more than a week, Ghana reopened its borders, causing Togo to do likewise so that the Ghanaians could return home.[2]

Legacy

"Ghana Must Go" bag

A type of cheap matted woven nylon zipped tote bags, used by the migrants to move their belongings, got the moniker "Ghana Must Go" during the migration. As of 2019, the bag is still commonly referred to with this name in most parts of Nigeria, Ghana, and certain parts of West Africa.[6][7] In 2020, New York-based Nigerian photographer Obinna Obioma used the bags to fashion clothing and other items in an exhibition on migration titled Anyi N'Aga ("We Are Going" in Igbo).[8]

Worldwide, the bag has a variety of other names associating it with migrants. In Germany it is called the "Türkenkoffer" (Turkish suitcase), in the US, the "Chinatown tote", in Guyana, the "Guyanese Samsonite", and in various other places, the "Refugee Bag".[9]

Impact on modern politics

The relationship between Nigeria and Ghana has improved since the events of 1983.[10]

References

  1. ^ Daly, Samuel Fury Childs (2022-07-30). "Ghana Must Go: Nativism and the Politics of Expulsion in West Africa, 1969–1985". Past & Present. doi:10.1093/pastj/gtac006. ISSN 0031-2746.
  2. ^ a b Solomonov, M. (2015-08-15). "Ghana Must Go: Exodus From Nigeria Remembered". Yen.com.gh. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  3. ^ Aremu, J. Olaosebikan (July 2013). "Responses to the 1983 Expulsion of Aliens from Nigeria: A Critique". African Research Review. 7 (3): 340–352. doi:10.4314/afrrev.v7i3.24.
  4. ^ a b Peil, Margaret (August 1971). "The Expulsion of West African Aliens". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 9 (2): 205–229. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00024903. S2CID 153884282.
  5. ^ a b Peil, Margaret (Autumn 1974). "Ghana's Aliens". The International Migration Review. 8 (3): 367–381. doi:10.1177/019791837400800303.
  6. ^ "Ghana Must Go: Containing The Mayhem of #Migration". Africa at LSE. 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
  7. ^ "Ghana Must Go: The ugly history of Africa's most famous bag". www.graphic.com.gh. Archived from the original on 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
  8. ^ Orjinmo, Nduka (2020-11-19). "In pictures: Turning the iconic Ghana Must Go bag into high fashion". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  9. ^ Hunt, Liz (2007-06-01). "Immigrants have bags of ambition". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
  10. ^ "Ghanaians love to visit these 5 Places in Nigeria". News Ghana. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-05-14.