Ghana Must Go

This isn't the image you had in mind. Right? 

Neither is it this one? You may be familiar with this if you're a lover of Africa literature. Anyways, this wasn't what you expected.

But, this is it right? The Ghana Must Go bags we know and own as items for transporting loads actually have a history. Not a good one though, but a history all the same. (The a/an relationship with words that starts with 'h' is something that I am yet to understand.) 

Anyways, if you have ever been interested in the history of Nigeria, you may recall when Shehu Shagari evicted every immigrant. Most of them were Ghanians and it was a difficult time. 

This eviction was not the type where you were served sufficient notice. It was sudden. The Ghanians in Nigeria, who came in because of the discovery of oil in Nigeria had to pack all they had and could into the bag to move out.

This may seem like the beginning of the story but it isn't. Years before this happened, Nigerians were kicked out Ghana. In the year 1969, many Nigerians who were rich, were asked to leave Ghana with a limited amount of money. 

The Ghanian government sort of swindled them. They permitted withdrawals of a small percentage than what Nigerians owned. The money they got was only sufficient for transportation. By the time, they got to Nigeria, they were broke. This was heartbreaking for many families and not many recovered from it. It was particularly painful because, some people had a lot of money but they were not permitted by the Ghanian government to withdraw it.

In 1983, President Shehu Shagari stated that the reason for the expulsuon of the Ghanians was that the the Ghanians were taking away jobs from Nigerians (Not a far cry from what's happening in South Africa)

The question now is, was this really a plan to create more employment opportunities for Nigerians or a ploy for revenge?