Ghana Must Go: African Legendary Bag The Untold Story
The Ghana Must Go bag was formerly a common household item. At the time, it was considered unfashionable to not have a bag in your home. They were common, inexpensive bags that came in large and small sizes, blue and red, and were all checked.
They were in great demand at Lagos markets in the early 1980s, unlike anything they had ever seen before, as hundreds of Nigerian vendors fought to get their hands on as many bags as possible to pack their belongings into. They also had two handles, zips, and vibrant colors, making them the greatest luggage carriers because they were big, capacious, and strong enough for long-distance travel.
The Ghana Must Go bag once enjoyed widespread popularity. At the time, it was considered unfashionable to live without a bag. They were common, inexpensive bags that were all checked. They were available in large and small sizes, blue and red, and both colors.
The early 1980s saw them in greater demand than ever before in Lagos markets as hundreds of Nigerian traders competed to get their hands on as many bags as possible to pack their belongings inside. They also developed into the best luggage carriers with two handles, zips, and vibrant colors since they were big, capacious, and strong enough for long-distance travel.
Despite the unsavory past of the materials, designers and celebrities have recently begun using these iconic bags to manufacture clothing.
The federal government of Nigeria ordered the mass expulsion of illegal immigrants living in Nigeria in 1983, during the democratic dictatorship of President Sheu Shagari, due to the atrocities many of them were allegedly committed in the country. More than half of those deported were Ghanaians who had migrated to Nigeria in search of a better life in the 1970s when Nigeria was experiencing an oil boom while Ghana was undergoing political and economic difficulties.
Nigeria, a young and soon-to-be-liberated country with a population of about a hundred million people, discovered oil in 1958. Shell, Mobil, and Agip were the first companies to set up shop in the country to drill for oil commercially. Despite the terrible military governments that plagued that period, oil money was stable, and hopes were high that Nigeria could flourish. When oil prices surged worldwide in the 1970s, the economy exploded. The golden era had arrived, and the country had become Africa’s wealthiest, earning it the moniker “African Giant.” Nigerian oil wells were producing 2.3 million barrels per day by 1974. The quality of life has improved. People moved from the countryside to the cities, and when they travelled, sturdy iron crates were favoured over inexpensive plastic sacks. The immigration was not only from Nigeria but also from other parts of the region.
Ghana, on the other hand, was experiencing the polar opposite. A drop in the price of cocoa (Ghana was the world’s largest cocoa producer in the 1960s) and the 1966 coup, which toppled independence leader Kwame Nkrumah, triggered a lethal mix of starvation and rebellion. The country’s population was roughly seven million at the time, but several million people decided to travel east to try their luck in rich Nigeria.
Ghanaians flocked to Nigeria in such large numbers that it appeared that every Ghanaian household had a relative working there. Ghanaian instructors were well known for their thoroughness and long, supple beating rods, in primary and secondary schools across the 19 states that existed at the time. Neighbours from the west flooded law offices, shoe repair shops, ice cream parlours, restaurants, and brothels.
However, the Nigerian government did not wake up one day and decide to remove almost 2 million Africans from the country; there were other circumstances that led to the expulsion.
