When Nigeria screamed Ghana must go!
In this retro series, Legit.ng examines the repatriation of up to one million illegal immigrants by Nigeria back to Ghana.
The year was 1983 and Nigeria had just ordered the massive return of illegal migrants from the country back to Ghana. The move seemed incredible as Nigeria and Ghana were supposed to be considered best neighbours and their relationship dates back to the pre-colonial period.
At that time, more than a million Ghanaians were working (il) legally in Nigeria as the country had enjoyed oil boom. However there were complaints that the Ghanaians had taken over the labour work force in the country and Nigerians were forced to compete with them in the labour market. The collapse of the oil boom forced the country into economic hardship. Someone had to be blamed and the foreigners were the scapegoat.
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When the repatriation was announced, it was celebrated with glee in Nigeria but for their Ghanaian counterparts, it was a journey they would not forget. They were given till May 10 of that year to leave the country of face serious consequence.
An official statement from Nigeria read: “If they don’t leave they should be arrested and tried and sent back to their homes. Illegal immigrants, in fact, under normal circumstances, should not be given any notice whatsoever.”
It was suspected that the repatriation was a retaliatory move from Nigeria as Ghana carried out a similar move during President Kofi Abrefa Busia administration in the early 1970’s and foreigners, most of them from Nigeria, were deported.
For Ghanaians, the journey from Nigeria back to their country was a tiring one. Trucks were loaded with humans and cargos and soldiers supervised the expulsion of the Ghanaians. Many of them were forced to leave behind their assets and belongings as they could not secure official documents to stay.
The Ghanaian radio station stations were livid: ''Nigeria should be ashamed of itself. The action of Nigeria is contrary to the charter of the Organization of African Unity.''
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“Ghana must go” soon became a cliché on the tongue of most Nigerians who felt Shagari’s action was in the interest of the citizens. They were optimistic that with the exit of their “parasitic” neighbours, Nigerians would have access to jobs but the fairy tale did not materialise. The absence of the Ghanaians did not open the door to El-Dorado as most Nigerians expected. Reality dawned in that the country had a bigger problem than the foreigners taking over their job.
The sort of menial jobs the foreigners were doing in Nigeria could not easily be filled by Nigerians who were not used those kind of work. Also, some of the foreigners were actually entrepreneurs who had taken advantage of the enabling environment to do business. Their absence automatically stopped the business and Nigerians did not seem to be interested in resurrecting them. By the later part of 1983, Nigerians were in the same situation as they were when the Ghanaians were around. It soon became clear that something else was responsible for the economic problem the nation was facing.
On December 31, the then General Muhammadu Buhari took over power through a coup citing the massive corruption that existed in the Shagari administration.
Do you think corruption was Nigeria’s problem in 1983 or corruption? Share your thought in the comment section.
Source: Legit.ng
