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The True Story of Ghana Must Go Exodus in 1983

Published

4 months ago

July 18, 2024

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Ghana Must Go bags

Growing up in Nigeria, Ghana and some other neighbouring countries, you must have heard of the popular term “Ghana Must Go“. Yes! It is the name of a commonly used bag for storing belongings or packing loads when travelling.

But have you ever wondered why this bag, called “Chinatown tote” in the USA and “Tuekenkoffer” in Germany, is called “Ghana Must Go” in Nigeria and Ghana? Well, someone did not just sit and coin a name for the bag, a real-life incident that happened in Nigeria back in 1983 named the bag Ghana Must Go…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

Ghanaians on their way to Ghana

More than half of those deported were Ghanaians who had come to Nigeria in search of better living in the 1970s when Nigeria was experiencing oil boom while Ghana, on the other hand, was witnessing political and economic hardship.

But the Nigerian government did not just wake up one day to expel over 2 million Africans from Nigeria, there were certain factors (one mentioned above) that culminated in the expulsion.

Nigeria and Ghana are good allies and have been maintaining their relationship before independence till today. But this friendship was threatened in the 1980s during the regime of the Ghanaian Head of State, Flight Lieutenant Jerry J. Rawlings and the Nigerian President, Alhaji Sheu Shagari.

Both African leaders were not in good terms and this was because President Shagari was a good friend of Ghana’s former president, Hilla Limann, whom Rawlings overthrew his government.

Refugees leaving Nigeria wait at the boarder to enter Benin as part of their journey back to Ghana (Photo by Michel Setboum/Getty Images) — NIGERIA – 1983: Refugees leaving Nigeria wait at the border to enter Benin as part of their journey back to Ghana (Photo by Michel Setboum/Getty Images)

This deteriorated the Ghana-Nigeria relationship to the extent that in 1982, Rawlings raised an alarm that Shagari wanted to help Limann overthrow his government, and in response, Nigeria stopped the shipping of crude oil on a loan deal to Ghana. As this beef continued between the government, so did it go on among the citizens.

Maitastine Uprising of 1980

The foreigners in Nigeria were seriously threatening the peace of the country and Nigerians were not ready to take that. The situation began heating up in 1980 when a Cameroonian expatriate named Muhammed Marwa alias Maitastine spearheaded a religious uprising (Maitastine Uprising of 1980) that led to the death of many people.

Maitastine was an illegal immigrant like many of his followers who were from Burkina Faso, Niger and Cameroon. This uprising is considered the second most tragic event in Nigeria after the Biafran war.

It should also be noted that there had existed an old wound in the Nigeria-Ghana relationship back in 1969 when the Ghanaian government effected the Alien’s Compliance Order. Nigerians and other African immigrants were deported on the claim that Ghana was in recession.

The Last Straw

The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the robbery at Ekwueme’s house. Alexander Ekwueme, the then Nigerian Vice President, was robbed by a group of armed robbers which consisted mainly of expatriates. When the robbers were caught by the police, it was discovered that two of them were Ghanaian. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

This sent the whole of Nigeria crazy. Instant action was taken by the Nigerian government and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On the 17th of January, 1983, the Nigerian Minister of Internal Affairs, Alhaji Alli Baba, announced the immediate expulsion of all illegal immigrants in Nigeria within two weeks. President Sheu Shagari also added in a statement,

“If they don’t leave, they should be arrested and tried, and sent back to their homes. Illegal immigrants under normal circumstances, should not be given any notice whatsoever. If you break a law, then you have to pay for it.”

Panic gripped all foreigners without papers in Nigeria for it was the least expected action of the Nigerian government. Over 1 million Ghanaians were thrown into confusion and indecision. It was rumoured that the Federal government gave power to Nigerians to confront any alien after the ultimatum given to leave.

Ghana Must Go

This scared the expatriates and sent them fleeing with and without their luggage. Those who could pack their belongings used the biggest of bags available which happened to be the big bag which is now called Ghana must go.

Returning refugees at the Ghana border. (Photo by Michel Setboum/Getty Images) — NIGERIA – 1983: Refugees leaving Nigeria wait at the border to enter Benin (Photo by Michel Setboum/Getty Images)

This mass deportation met global criticisms. The act was condemned by many humanitarian organizations across the globe. The US Department of State said the expulsion order was “shocking and a violation of every imaginable human right.” All these did not make the Nigerian government reverse the order. It still bent on expelling all illegal immigrants in the country.

Also, there were claims that the “corruption-riddled” government of President Sheu Shagari ordered the deportation to divert attention from its shenanigans because an election was forthcoming. Truly, the Shagari government had to pull a stunt to divert the attention of Nigerians and win their votes.

Ghanaians trooped out en masse for they knew Nigeria was no longer safe for them. It was indeed a massive exodus that automatically rooted its feet in the history of Nigeria and Ghana. They (Ghanaians) camped at the Seme border as they waited to enter Benin Republic where they hoped to find a ship to Ghana.

OldNaija gathered that the land route through Togo was much preferable and convenient but the Ghanaian dictator, Jerry J Rawlings had closed the Ghana-Togo border due to an attempted coup in 1981. Togo also closed down its border with Benin in order to avoid refugee crises.

After some time, the Ghanaian military ruler, Jerry Rawlings, opened the Ghana-Togo border and left Togo no choice but to do the same with Benin Republic and allow refugees to flow across like water.

Jerry J Rawlings at Tema Habour during Ghana must go saga — Ghanaian Head of State, Jerry J Rawlings at Tema Habour with deported Ghanaians

It was indeed great news for the Ghanaian refugees. On getting home, they were welcomed by relatives and friends amidst tears. Jerry Rawlings also visited some of them at Tema harbour and assured them that his government would provide assistance in every possible way.

This is the real bitter story behind every ‘Ghana must go’ bag. However, it should be known that today, Nigeria and Ghana remain the best of friends as they let the past behind them. This is evident in the entertainment, sports and politics sectors of the two countries.

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METRO

One of the worst torture methods in history involves being ‘licked to death’ by a goat

Published

11 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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At this point I’m pretty sure people were just trying whatever they could think of

If there’s one truth about human beings which has endured throughout history it’s that we’re a bunch of weirdos who do some very strange things.

Naturally, that includes finding weird ways to hurt or kill each other, as some of the methods are just downright bizarre.

You’d think that by the time people were coming up with ways to kill each other involving two boats and copious lashings of milk and honey that we were pretty much running out of ideas and freestyling but human ingenuity had plenty more in the tank when it came to being horrible…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

Of course, there was the guy who built a giant torture device in the shape of a bull, and ended up becoming the first victim of his own creation, while at other times the implements are as simple as something which pulls your limbs out of their joints.

An artist's impression of the 'goat's tongue' punishment (By Nan Palmero from San Antonio, TX, USA - Rothenburg Germany Torture Museum, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65242774)

However, each of these methods involves some kind of gadget or implement, for a more low tech alternative then you might consider one which needs nothing beyond a bucket of saltwater and a goat.

This historic torture method was known as the ‘goat’s tongue’ and could leave a person in agonising pain or even result in their death.

How it worked was a person would have their feet immersed in saltwater to make it more vulnerable to peeling and then the poor victim will be secured in place so that the goat can properly be deployed.

The idea is that the goat will go and lick the person’s salty feet, and the unceasing tongue lashing from the bleating beast would slowly but steadily wear down the skin on the soles of the feet. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

While having the soles of your feet licked by a goat might initially feel quite ticklish, it must have been agony once the skin starts wearing down and you wish you were anywhere else other than stuck with a goat licking your feet.

Such a torture could even result in death should the wounds that form on the soles of the feet become infected, and having a farm animal lick your open wounds seems like a good way to get them infected.

The ‘goat’s tongue’ was described in documents condemning the use of torture and is thought to date back to the days of Ancient Rome.

While they had some decent ways to treat illness and it wasn’t all dreadful when it came to medical care, you’d much rather not get some sort of infection in those times.

Oh no, the most terrifying torture implement ever! (ROMEO GACAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Plus, with the skin on the soles of your feet licked down to absolutely nothing good luck walking anywhere for an incredibly long amount of time.

Even if the goat’s tongue didn’t infect your wounds then trying to walk on your ruined feet would probably have a similar impact.

Be glad that the horrific torture method is no longer used in this day and age.

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METRO

I Visited My Dying Boyfriend At The Hospital Only To Meet The Shock Of My Life

Published

12 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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They were three guys when I met them. Martin, Joe and Laka. It was Martin who called and talked to me. They were new in town and were looking for friends. I agreed to be friends with them.

All of them became my friends and since they were living in the same house, I went there on weekends to help them. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

They were kind to me. They bought gifts for me when they returned from their travels. They gave me money when…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

READ FULL STORY HERE>>...CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

METRO

The Igbo Landing – Story Of Igbo Slaves Who Rebelled Against Slave Traders And Committed Mass Suicide In U.S.A., 1803

Published

14 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Jamaican artist, Donovan Nelson’s illustration paying tribute to the Igbo Landing Event.

Countless accounts of terrifying and dehumanizing events that happened during the slave trade era have been passed down from generations to generations; accounts of irrational cruelty, starvation, resistance, mass killings and suicide. The story of the Igbo landing is another tear-evoking account of resistance to slavery by the Igbo slaves from present-day Nigeria off U.S. coast in 1803…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

What Is The Igbo Landing Or Ibo Landing?

The Igbo landing, also written as ‘Ibo landing‘ or ‘Ebo landing‘, is a historic site at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia, U.S.A. where dozens of Igbo slaves took their own lives in a resistance to the cruelty of slavery in 1803.

In May, 1803, a ship named the wanderer, just like other slave ships, conveyed slaves from Africa to America. Among these slaves were set of Igbo people who were known by the then slave traders of the American South for being fiercely independent and unwilling to tolerate chattel slavery. The Igbo slaves were bought by the agents of John Couper and Thomas Spalding at $100 each for forced labour on their plantations in St. Simons Island, U.S.A.

When the slave ship landed in Savannah, Georgia, the chained Igbo slaves were reloaded and shoved under the deck of a coastal vessel named the Schooner York (some accounts claimed the vessel name was Morovia) which would take them to St. Simons Island. It was during the voyage that the group of Igbo slaves numbering about seventy-five rebelled against their captors and forced them to plunge into the water where they drowned. The slaves successfully regained their freedom but it was of no use since they were already out and far away from Africa, and so, on the order of a high chief who was also a captive, they sang, marched ashore and then into the marshy waters of Dunbar Creek where they drowned themselves.

According to Professor Terri L. Snyder, “the enslaved cargo suffered much by mismanagement, rose from their confinement in the small vessel, and revolted against the crew, forcing them into the water where they drowned”. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Igbo Landing Illustration — Another illustration paying tribute to the Igbo Landing Event by Donovan Nelson

A white man, Roswell King, who was an overseer on a plantation known as Pierce Butler plantation was the first to record the incident at the site now known as the Igbo landing. Roswell and another man, Captain Peterson, recovered thirteen bodies of the drowned Igbos while others bodies were lost forever in the water. OldNaija gathered that some of them might have survived the suicide episode and this make the actual number of deaths in the Igbo landing uncertain.

“Regardless of the numbers, the deaths signaled a powerful story of resistance as these captives overwhelmed their captors in a strange land, and many took their own lives rather than remain enslaved in the New World. The Igbo Landing gradually took on enormous symbolic importance in local African American folklore”. – Momodu, Samuel

People in the U.S.A termed the resistance and suicide by the Igbo slaves the first freedom march in the history of Africa and the United States. Local people claimed that the Landing and surrounding marshes in Dunbar Creek where the Igbo people committed mass suicide in May, 1803 were haunted by the souls of the dead Igbo slaves.

Igbo Landing Picture — FREEING THE SOULS OF IGBO LANDING, THE NEVER-BEEN-RULED. “The Water Spirit Omambala brought us here. The Water Spirit Omambala will carry us home.” (Orimiri Omambala bu anyi bia. Orimiri Omambala ka anyi ga ejina. – Ancient Igbo Hymn)

In September, 2012, the Igbo Landing site was designated as a holy ground by the St. Simons African American community. The Igbo Landing is also now a part of the curriculum for coastal Georgia schools.

In recent times, many artists, songs, movies and others have paid tribute to the Igbo landing/ Ibo landing. A notable tribute is found in the ending part of Marvel’s comic movie, Black Panther, where Killmonger, played by Michael B Jordan, refer to the event by saying, “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, ’cause they knew death was better than bondage”. Beyoncé also was not left out in the tribute paying as she portrayed the incident in of her music videos.

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