From "Ghana Must Go" to "Stop the Boats" – The Cyclical Politics of Immigration

Nigerian border, 1983

 Overview

Immigration has always been a political flash point. When economies falter, governments often turn to migrants as convenient scapegoats. West Africa in the late 20th century and the United Kingdom today offer strikingly similar stories. The infamous "Ghana Must Go" crisis of 1983 in Nigeria and the Aliens Compliance Order of 1969 in Ghana reveal lessons the UK can learn funnily enough, from immigrants as it grapples with its own immigration debates.

A Quick Timeline of Expulsions & Crises

1969 – Ghana’s Aliens Compliance Order

• Context: Economic hardship, rising unemployment, post-Nkrumah instability.

• Action: Prime Minister Kofi Busia ordered all undocumented foreigners to leave within two weeks.

• Impact: Over 150,000 people expelled, mostly Nigerians. Skilled labour and traders lost, Ghana’s economy did not improve.

  
  

1983 – Nigeria’s "Ghana Must Go"

• Context: Oil boom collapse, rising unemployment, inflation, social tension.

• Action: President Shehu Shagari expelled up to 2 million undocumented migrants, mostly Ghanaians.

• Impact: Chaos at borders, markets disrupted, but no real economic relief. Nigeria still slid into austerity and IMF restructuring.

  
  

2020s – UK Immigration Debates

• Context: Housing crisis, NHS pressures, low productivity, post-Brexit adjustments.

• Action: Heated rhetoric around "Stop the Boats", net migration, and visa restrictions.

• Impact: Labour shortages in health, agriculture, logistics, and care. Immigrants remain essential, but public debate is dominated by scapegoating.

  
  

Introduction

Every generation finds a new group to blame when the economy falters. In the late 20th century, West Africa saw waves of expulsions driven by fear, frustration, and failing economies. In the 2020s, Britain is having its own version of that story. The phrase “Ghana Must Go” — born from Nigeria’s 1983 expulsion of West African migrants — may sound far removed from modern Britain’s “Stop the Boats” rhetoric, but the underlying politics are eerily familiar.

Cheap phrases but overlooking the actual problem.

1. The Ghanaian Expulsion of 1969

Lets, take it back to the 1960s. In 1969, Ghana’s Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia introduced the Aliens Compliance Order. Facing unemployment, inflation, and instability after independence from the British Empire, his government demanded that all foreigners without valid papers leave within two weeks. Yes, just two weeks. In that time, over 150,000 people, mostly Nigerians, were expelled from the country.

The logic was simple: remove foreigners, free up jobs (where have we heard that before). The outcome however, was the opposite. Ghana lost teachers, traders, and skilled workers. The markets collapsed, and unemployment stayed high. Instead of renewal, Ghana’s economy spiraled deeper into crisis. Surprise.

2. Nigeria’s Turn: “Ghana Must Go,” 1983

Fast forward 14 years to 1983. Nigeria, once booming from post-colonisation from oil, was in recession. Oil prices were falling and corruption rising, President Shehu Shagari made a familiar move — he ordered all undocumented West Africans, mostly Ghanaians, to leave the country. Nearly 2 million people were expelled in just weeks.

Images of desperate families with their belongings stuffed into cheap checkered bags defined the moment. Those bags became known as “Ghana Must Go.” Yet, despite the dramatic exodus, another surprise, Nigeria’s economy didn’t improve. The oil crash, not foreign workers, was the real issue.

3. The UK Today: “Stop the Boats” and the Politics of Blame

In modern Britain, immigration dominates headlines. Politicians argue that migrants strain housing, healthcare, and wages — echoing the language of West Africa’s past expulsions.

But the data tells a different story.

• Immigrants contribute more in taxes than they take in services.

• The NHS, agriculture, construction, and logistics rely heavily on migrant labour.

• Post-Brexit restrictions have already led to labour shortages and rising prices.

  
  

Like Busia and Shagari, UK leaders find it easier to blame migrants than to fix deeper structural issues — such as hoarding housing, housing under supply, weak productivity, excessive regulation, green policies an chronic under investment in infrastructure (to name a few).

4. Scapegoating Cycles

Across time and continents, the pattern repeats:

Era	Country	Action	Claimed Benefit	Real Outcome
1969	Ghana	Expelled undocumented migrants	Jobs for locals	Labour loss, no growth
1983	Nigeria	Expelled West African migrants	Reduce unemployment	No change, deeper crisis
2020s	United Kingdom	Restrict migration, tough rhetoric	Protect services	Labour shortages, higher costs

5. The Lesson

Migration is not the enemy — mismanagement is. I am not saying that immigration should be without limitations nor am I saying that illegal immigratio is OK. However, Ghana and Nigeria learned that removing migrants doesn’t repair broken systems. It simply hides deeper issues for a while. Britain’s current immigration debate risks repeating those same exact mistakes. Ironic isn't it?

Economic growth, innovation, and resilience come from logical policy and cohesion, not ignorance, exclusion and fear.

Closing Thoughts

The phrase “Ghana Must Go” may have started with woven plastic bags and border chaos, but it is now a timeless warning. When politicians choose easy targets instead of hard reforms, history remembers — and repeats.

Immigration is not without it's issues (especially illegal immigration). There are many cultural issues attached. However, the "Stop the Boats" campaign will not make a single person more prosperous in the UK.

If Britain truly wants renewal, it must learn from Africa’s past: prosperity doesn’t come from pushing people out, but from building systems strong enough to sustain the people already here.

And Britain has stopped doing that.

The cultural issues of immigration however, we'll speak about that in the next blog post.