Perspective
It’ s worth remembering that during the years of Apartheid, many African countries played a direct role in supporting South Africa’ s liberation struggle, providing refuge, training grounds, and political support to South African freedom fighters. Exile, in that context, was not a choice but a necessity, and it was made possible because other nations were willing to open their borders and absorb that burden.
MARKETING AFRICA
Perspective
Soyinka Witness
What We Carry When We’ re Forced To Leave: Of the Ghana Must Go Bag, And Xenophobia
This is a story that demands a bit of patience and your attention. It carries with it history, a touch of geopolitics, and more than a few uncomfortable truths.
Exactly one year ago, I found myself seated with a group of people drawn from across the continent. We were part of the first cohort of a pan-African programme in Lagos, brought together to share perspectives shaped by our individual experiences- different countries, different systems, but often, similar underlying realities.
After the formal sessions, we retreated to the hotel, where the real conversations usually begin. The kind that are less structured, a bit more honest, and often more revealing. Drinks in hand, stories started to flow. I had my usual- The Famous Grouse with a splash of water- and we settled into that familiar rhythm of strangers slowly becoming less so.
At some point in the evening, the conversation turned to travel. One of the participants from Ghana had arrived on short notice and, as it turned out, without luggage. That, in itself, was unremarkable, until someone, with perfect timing, asked whether they had at least managed to sneak in a“ Ghana Must Go” bag. The room broke into laughter- the kind that does not require explanation because it is rooted in shared experience. Everyone knew exactly what was being referenced, and for a brief moment, the diversity in that room collapsed into a single, collective understanding.
Do I have your attention now?
What stayed with me was not just the humour, but how instinctive that recognition was. Across different countries and backgrounds, this was one reference point we all shared, and yet, like many things that sit quietly in our everyday lives, very few of us have ever stopped to interrogate where it came from. The bag, so common that it almost disappears into the background, did not begin as a matter of convenience. It emerged from a very specific set of circumstances, shaped by decisions, pressures, and movements that unfolded over time.
To understand it, you have to go back to Ghana in 1969, when Kofi Busia came into office at a time of mounting economic strain. Ghana had previously benefited from strong cocoa exports, which had supported incomes and attracted migrants from across West Africa, many of whom moved in search of opportunity. That period of stability did not last. As global production increased, supply began to outpace demand, and cocoa prices fell sharply. The effects were significant- declining incomes, rising unemployment, and growing pressure on an already strained economy.
By the time Busia assumed leadership, public sentiment had shifted, and attention increasingly turned to the presence of foreign nationals within the country. A narrative began to take hold that these migrants were competing for limited opportunities in a constrained economic environment. The government’ s response was decisive. Non-Ghanaian nationals, particularly those without proper documentation, were asked to leave the country within a short period of time. An estimated 200,000 people were affected, the vast majority of them Nigerians, and they were given roughly two weeks to exit.
For those impacted, the experience was abrupt and deeply disruptive. People liquidated assets at unfavourable prices, abandoned property they could not dispose of, and made rapid decisions about what to carry with them. Many returned to Nigeria, but not into stability, as the country was in the middle of the Nigerian Civil War, which introduced additional layers of uncertainty and risk. What might have appeared, at the time, to be a contained national decision was already setting off a sequence of movements that extended beyond Ghana’ s borders.
In the years that followed, Nigeria’ s economic trajectory shifted considerably. The oil boom of the 1970s transformed the country’ s outlook, creating new opportunities and attracting labour from across the region. Among those who migrated were many Ghanaians, who integrated into different segments of the economy, working as teachers, traders, artisans, and service providers, while also contributing to the cultural fabric of the country. For a period, this movement reflected a broader pattern of regional interdependence, where labour flowed towards opportunity.
However, by the early 1980s, economic conditions in Nigeria began to deteriorate. Global oil prices declined, government revenues fell, and the strain became increasingly visible through rising unemployment
It’ s worth remembering that during the years of Apartheid, many African countries played a direct role in supporting South Africa’ s liberation struggle, providing refuge, training grounds, and political support to South African freedom fighters. Exile, in that context, was not a choice but a necessity, and it was made possible because other nations were willing to open their borders and absorb that burden.
96 MAL72 / 26 ISSUE