A Reappraisal of the Expulsion of Illegal Immigrants from Nigeria in 1983

• Main Author: Daouda Gary-Tounkara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Bielefeld 2016-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Conflict and Violence
• Subjects: Nigeria; Sahel; Mali; migration; expulsion; xenophobia; foreigners
• Online Access: http://ijcv.org/index.php/ijcv/article/view/477/pdf_1

In recent years, Nigeria has been quietly expelling more and more immigrants from Niger, Mali, Chad and Cameroon. These foreigners – migrant workers or small traders – face the reinforcement of migration control and the blind fight of the government against Boko Haram. Despite its political instability, Nigeria remains a major immigration destination in West Africa. In this article, I analyze the “undocumented” expulsion of aliens in 1983, officially three million people. I argue that the expulsion was due to the economic crisis but also to a nationalist revenge against Ghana and a political calculation of President Shagari. This implies the exclusion of foreigners from the national labour market and the weakening of the supposed electoral base of his opponents.