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The True Story of Ghana Must Go Exodus in 1983

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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.

Ghana must go bags

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.

Maitatsine
Maitatsine captured by military men

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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Woman mourned the death of her husband at his funeral ‘only to find him at her doorstep 4 days later’!

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The unfortunate woman, Victoria, told local news outlets that she ended the year with a tragedy. During a visit to the local hospital, she was told by hospital staff that her husband, Julio, passed away from c0ronavirus.

She reportedly identified the body that she was shown in the hospital morgue, after which the medical staff released the corpse to the grieving wife.

Making arrangements to pay the last respects to her husband, Victoria, arranged to have Julio’s body be taken 30 miles away from the hospital to her village in Honduras.

She then spent one entire night surrounded by distressed relatives as they had an all-night wake before his final burial the next day…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

On the day of the funeral, Julio’s children saw the open coffin and found something amiss. They took a look at the body and wondered whether it was really that of their father’s.

But despite their doubts, the relatives reportedly went ahead with the ceremony and the man was laid to rest in a funeral that Victoria spent more than $430.

In the days that followed, Victoria continued grieving for her husband until, out of nowhere, she saw Julio himself arrive back at their house on the fourth day since the funeral was held.

“That wasn’t my husband who died, because I have my husband here now. I recognised him,” the wife said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

It was only after her husband returned home that Victoria discovered he had been missing for a few days because he went for a walk and fell over at a spot in the neighboring municipality.

Unable to get up, the man spent several days there, surviving without anything to drink or eat. He was later found injured in a field before his return home. Although her husband was back, it also meant that she buried a complete stranger in her village and her family has no idea who they were grieving for. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

“I would like them to give me back some of what I spent, because they gave me the body of someone I don’t know,” Victoria shared.

“The authorities at the morgue should have properly examined him to see if it was really him.”

But on the other hand, the hospital said that the wife was to blame for misidentifying the man as her husband. They confirmed that the man arrived with Covid-19, and because of his serious condition, he didn’t survive in the hospital for more than a few hours.

The hospital staff had a look at the picture Victoria was carrying of her husband, and they found him to resemble the body of the man in the morgue. In addition to this, Victoria herself recognized the body at the time as that of her husband’s.

The hospital director reportedly said, “The logical thing was to bring the body back so we could investigate.

But later the relatives called back and said he was the right person after all and they were going to bury him.

We have everything documented. We even have an apology from one of the children, if this becomes a lawsuit.”

 

 

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A Girl Rushed Out Of McDonald’s Bathroom Crying, Then Her Mom Saw Something Wrong On Her Legs

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The restaurant was packed with hungry customers busy eating at their tables when the customers’ attention shifted to a four-year-old girl named Kayla running towards her mom. Kayla’s face was filled with tears, and she was hysterically crying when she reached her mom’s arm. While Kayla’s mom, Nicole, was comforting her daughter, she asked her daughter what was wrong. Kayla was still crying and couldn’t speak; she continued sobbing like she was in deep pain. That was when Nicole started scanning her daughter’s body and saw what was wrong.

There was something on Kayla’s leg. Hello, wonderful people! I’m Jamie Buck from Wonderbot, and here is a story about a girl who rushed out of a McDonald’s bathroom crying. Then her mom saw something wrong on her legs. Before we begin, make sure you smash the like button, subscribe to our channel, and click the notification bell for more amazing videos…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

It was during New Year’s Day when Nicole and her daughter Kayla decided to spend their day at the park and buy some food at McDonald’s. It was Kayla’s favorite fast food. The two were so excited to spend time together and bond at the park. While Nicole was closing their front door, she turned to Kayla and asked her if she was ready to have fun. Kayla nodded her head with excitement, having no idea what was about to come to them.

When Nicole and Kayla arrived at the park, the piercing sun was shimmering down on them. It was a perfect bright day to spend at the park. Kayla immediately ran towards the roundabout and asked her mom to spin her. You could hear Kayla’s giggle throughout the playground while her mom was spinning her. Nicole’s phone started ringing, and she turned around to answer the call while Kayla got off the roundabout to go to the slides.

While Nicole was busy talking on her phone, she suddenly heard a scream. Nicole quickly ended her call when she realized it was Kayla. The moment Nicole got off the phone, she turned around to find Kayla had fallen from the slide and scratched her head. She was so worried about what had happened and continued comforting her daughter while she was sobbing. After a while, when Kayla had finally calmed down, she asked her mom if she could get food already.

Nicole immediately stood up and told her daughter, “Yes, of course, dear.” The two left the park and drove off to the nearest McDonald’s, which was about 10 minutes away from where they were. Little did Nicole know that it would have been better if they just ate somewhere else. When Nicole and Kayla arrived at McDonald’s and walked into the restaurant, they noticed that the place was filled with people. Nicole’s attention was caught by a group of teenagers that were seated in the corner of the restaurant.

The group was listening to music while sipping on their soda. Two of the teenagers suddenly turned their look at Nicole and her daughter and sniggered. What could those two be thinking? It was mentioned earlier the restaurant was packed, so it’s no surprise that the line was long too. After what seemed like forever standing in line, it was finally Nicole’s turn to order.

While she was ordering their food, she asked Kayla to sit at the table in the corner and wait there while she was ordering food. Kayla politely followed her mom’s instructions and sat at the table while watching a video on YouTube on her mom’s phone. But then suddenly, a scream was heard throughout the restaurant. A scream came from the teenager that was sitting in the corner of the restaurant. The group started a fight and were yelling at each other.

Nicole immediately walked over to Kayla and comforted her, trying to drive her attention away from the battle by making her watch YouTube videos. Staff from the restaurant quickly went to the group to break up the fight and kick them out of the place. While the group was kicked out, two teenage girls from the circle were still sitting at the table. It was finally time to eat. The smell of burgers and fries lingered in the air as Nicole and Kayla started digging into their well-deserved lunch.

Kayla was eating a Happy Meal while Nicole was eating her chicken burger and some fries. In the middle of their mealtime, Kayla suddenly looked at her mom with a stern but innocent look. “Mommy, I need to use the toilet,” Kayla whispered as she finished the last bite of her cheeseburger. Kayla wiped her hands and got up to go to the toilet. When she walked over, she noticed the lock was shut.

There must be someone in there, she thought. She looked back at her mom, who smiled at her. Suddenly, she heard something. It was coming from inside the toilet. Giggles and laughs could be heard while Kayla was patiently waiting outside the toilet. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

After a couple of minutes remaining, the door opened, and the two teenage girls from earlier went out of the bathroom together with a smirk on their faces. Nicole was intimidated by the girls as she watched them walk past Kayla. Nicole then signaled her daughter to enter the toilet and assured Kayla that she’ll stay outside and wait for her. While Nicole was patiently waiting for Kayla at her table, she heard a scream coming from the toilet. “Mom!

Kayla screamed while running out of the bathroom with tears streaming down her face. Nicole immediately stood up from her seat, not minding her bag that fell onto the floor. As a mother, one thing that you never want to hear is the sound of your kid screaming. Kayla ran into her mom’s arms, sobbing. In the toilet, she says, Nicole immediately went to the toilet to check what was wrong.

She scanned the whole room and thought there was nothing wrong there, so she continued studying to see what could be the reason behind her daughter’s outburst. She saw that there were a few toilet paper rolls rolled out on the floor, and the faucet was dripping. Nicole checked the toilet seat, and that is when she figured the reason for her child’s outburst. When she went to the toilet seat, she noticed that it looked like the chair was covered with a white sticky substance. But as Nicole got closer to inspect, she realized that it was glue.

The toilet seat was smothered with super glue. She then realized that someone did this on purpose. Nicole stormed out of the toilet while her heart was pounding and yelled to call the manager and all employees in the restaurant. Nicole went over to her daughter, who was still crying and yelling in pain. She checked on Kayla to see what was wrong and saw that her daughter’s skin was peeled off at the back of her legs.

While Kayla was still crying in her mother’s arms, Kayla was terrified of what happened, and her mother was furious. Nicole yelled out for help in the crowd while stopping her tears from falling out of her eyes. Joanna, the assistant manager at McDonald’s, thought that she had seen it all, from small fights over a Big Mac to a drunk customer and misbehaving teens. She was trained and was already used to handling heated situations. She knew what to do to solve problems, but in her 15 years in the industry, it was the first time to see and experience something like this.

She had never seen anything like this. The moment Nicole asked for help, Joanna and her co-employees all gathered around Kayla and provided medical assistance. The staff helped in cleaning the wound and bandaging her up while Kayla was crying in her mom’s chest. After that, Nicole decided to go to the nearest hospital, so she called a family member to come and get them. But the assistance that was given to them was not enough for Nicole.

She knew that there was something that she needed to do. Nicole took the matter to her social media account and shared on her personal Facebook what happened, hoping that this would bring the pranksters to justice. On her post, Nicole wrote, “To the two young blonde girls that thought it would be hilarious to put super glue on the disabled and baby changing toilet in McDonald’s, I just want you to know that I still have to console my four-year-old daughter who was unfortunate enough to use the toilet after your little prank. She is hoping that the two teenage girls who played the prank on her daughter would be found and punished. Kayla is just an innocent little girl and does not deserve all of this.

After some investigations, the two teenage girls were finally found and were interviewed by the police officers. The two girls immediately admitted what they did and sincerely apologized to Nicole and Kayla. The two girls said they were regretting what they did and that it was a prank gone wrong. But was the apology enough for Nicole and daughter Kayla? Imagine Kayla, a four-year-old who would have to live her life with this terrible memory marked in her mind.

After hearing that the police had taken appropriate action against the two teenage girls, Nicole felt relieved. It’s been weeks since the incident happened, and the things that happened that day are still fresh in her mind. She watches as her daughter peacefully plays with her dolls. Some justice finally, she thought to herself. She takes a sip of her cup of coffee before smiling to herself and watching her brave daughter playing.

Such a story right? This story just proves to show that pranks can be a fun way to trick your friends, but it can result in a bad scenario. Hopefully, Nicole and Kayla’s experience will remind those people who love doing pranks and tricks on their friends to think twice about the people they would upset all for the sake of a laugh. So next time you want to play a prank on someone, make sure to think about it first and that no one will get hurt.

 

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The bus driver picked up the children early in the morning as usual, and the parents found out they were not at school

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Black ice (a thin layer of new ice on a road) is dangerous. If you have ever tried to walk or ride it then you know.

This is why the parents of Shelby County were not surprised when they were informed that school would start late because they had to wait for the ice on the road to melt.

Unfortunately, bus driver Wayne Price did not receive the message on time. He had already collected all the children, and knew that returning them to their homes
would only increase the chance of an accident. So instead, he did something completely different…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Instead of parking the bus and letting the kids play on the smartphone for two hours, he knew he needed to do something to keep them busy.

His actions may not have been according to the book, but they also did not surprise elementary school principals in Montevallo, Alabama.

Understand, they know Wayne. They know he is capable of doing such a ‘trick’.

But the children did not know what to expect. When they stopped at a local McDonald’s branch they must have wondered if Wayne had lost it. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Turns out he just wanted to buy all the kids breakfast, and paid for everyone’s breakfast instead of the breakfast they were supposed to eat at school.

To put things in perspective, there were between 40 and 50 kids on Wayne’s bus, so you can imagine how much the bill came out. School principals responded to the
gesture on Facebook and wrote: “Mr. Price, one of our bus drivers, really demonstrated the holiday spirit! On Tuesday, when school started late because of ice on the
road and we could not serve breakfast, he bought breakfast at McDonalds for all the kids who were on the bus! What a wonderful gesture that the students will
remember forever!”

After hearing every good deed of the bus driver, people from all over the world flooded Wayne with messages of support and encouragement.

What a beautiful thing to do, and what a wonderful way to do above and beyond for kids who he so obviously care about!

If you think Wayne Price’s deed is commendable, share the article with your friends and family!

 

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