Today in History – January 17, 1983 – Thirty-eight years ago today, January 17, 2021, Nigeria expelled two million undocumented West African migrants, half of whom were from Ghana.
Today, the animosity from this expulsion still rules diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Ghana. And the West African sub-region is still smarting from its fallout with many countries yet to forget and confront its emotional bruises.
The expelled West Africans left in the sturdy, checked bags into which they packed their belongings. This stripped bag was the symbol of the exodus, now common in Nigeria as ‘Ghana Must Go,’ have become a symbol of exclusion and intolerance.
Paradoxically, the bags have become the bag of choice for delivering proceeds of corruption among the political and business elite in Nigeria.
Trust Africans, Ghanaians have named the same bag, ‘Nigeria Must Go,’ as their various governments compete to implement their own anti-Nigerian policies.