Ghana Must Go: The 1969 Ghana–Nigeria Expulsions That Came Before 1983

The 1983 “Ghana Must Go” expulsion is one of the most remembered moments in Nigeria–Ghana history. But an earlier mass departure of Nigerians from Ghana in 1969 is often left out of the conversation. During Ghana’s economic downturn, the Aliens Compliance Order gave undocumented foreign residents a short period to regularise their status or leave. Many Nigerians who had lived, worked and built businesses in Ghana were among those forced to return to Nigeria. Years later, Nigeria’s oil-boom economy attracted many migrants, including Ghanaians. As Nigeria entered recession in 1983, the Shagari government ordered undocumented migrants to leave. The hurried departures helped make the large checkered plastic travel bags widely associated with the phrase “Ghana Must Go.” The two episodes show how economic hardship and anti-immigrant policies affected ordinary West Africans on both sides. What stories have you heard about the 1969 expulsions or the 1983 era?

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