Ghana Must Go West passing through Benin and Togo. Over 1 Million Ghanaians were affected by the order. Ghanaians were mostly attracted to Nigeria because of the oil market of the 70's, but in 1983 when the "Ghana Must Go" revolution started, the economy had weakened and was fast falling apart. It was also the election year during that time. Once the migrants got to Benin, the way out was restricted. Those who had already made it to Benin were stuck in the port of Cotonou, the capital city of Benin, with hopes of getting a boat to Ghana. The problems they experienced
African Americans in Ghana journalist Lydia Polgreen reported in a "New York Times" article, the fact that Ghanaian slave exports to the Americas was so important between the 16th and 19th centuries has made Ghana currently try to attract the descendants of enslaved Africans from the Americas to return to settle there and make the country their new home – although not all are of Ghanaian descent. As reported by Valerie Papaya Mann, president of the African American Association of Ghana, thousands of African Americans now live in Ghana for at least part of the year. To encourage migration, or at least visits by