Nigerian President Shehu Shagari issued an executive order which forced about 2 million undocumented West African immigrants to leave his country. This included some estimated 1 million Ghanaians.
These West African immigrants had been drawn to Nigeria by the oil boom of the 1970s, but by 1983, the Nigerian economy had weakened.
This is how come these matted woven nylon zipped tote bags, used by the migrants to move their belongings, got the moniker "Ghana Must Go"
An attempted coup the previous year, led President JJ Rawlings, to close the main land crossing with Togo. Togo then also shut its borders with Benin.
Once the migrants reached Benin, the way out was restricted and they were forced to remain in the port of Cotonou attempting to find a boat to Ghana.
After they had been stranded for more than a week, Ghana reopened its borders, causing Togo to do likewise so that the Ghanaians could return home.