I found this book on Amazon and was intrigued by the title. I’ve seen references to “Ghana Must Go” bags elsewhere. These are woven plastic plaid bags: cheap, lightweight, and sturdy. In Chicago, people use them to take their clothes to the Laundromat. In West Africa, they substitute for suitcases. The name came about in 1983, when Ghanaian citizens were expelled from Nigeria. They needed cheap packaging for their clothes and household items, and these bags filled the need. The name stuck.
This is a self-published novel, a parable about getting back to what is important for the country. The author wants to start with the name, urging the nation to replace the name Ghana with either “Gold Coast”, its name under the English, or “Sikaman”, which means Gold Town in the local language. “Ghana” means “Warrior King” and was originally used for a region to the north and west of modern-day Ghana. And so, Ghana must go for the country to have a name that reflects its true wealth and heritage.
The book’s main character, Mensah Quansa, was one of those Ghanians in Nigeria. He emigrated to make money, ran into hardship, paid a native priest for a spell to make him wealthy, and the proceeded to make a fortune gambling. The underlying idea that selling the nation’s soul for wealth will make it poorer in the long run.
Right now, Ghana has higher per-capita income than Nigeria, and it’s certainly a safer place for young women. To date, the nation’s government has been managing its natural resources well. If the elected officials can keep a grip on democracy and fight the temptations of corruption that have done so much damage to the region, this could be the world’s next economic success story. Although, with just 25 million people, the economy will never be of BRIC scale.
