A "Ghana Must Go" bag is the large checkered woven plastic carryall — usually red-white-and-blue or red-and-blue — used worldwide for moving clothes and household goods. The name comes from the 1983 mass expulsion of Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria, when families packed everything they owned into these cheap, tough bags. Today the diaspora still trusts them for shipping personal effects home.
What is a "Ghana Must Go" bag?
You have almost certainly seen one: a big rectangular holdall woven from coated polypropylene, in a bold red, white and blue (or red and blue) check, with a zip and two carry handles. It is light, water-resistant, costs very little, and swallows an astonishing amount of clothing, fabric, shoes and household bits. Across markets in Lagos, Accra, London and New York it goes by many names — the "Bagco Super Sack," "Chinatown tote," "laundry bag" or "refugee bag" — but in West Africa and its diaspora it is the Ghana Must Go.
Where the name comes from
The name carries real history, and it is worth telling plainly. In January 1983, Nigeria ordered the expulsion of an estimated one to two million West African migrants, the majority of them Ghanaians, who had moved to Nigeria during its oil boom. Families were given little time to leave, and the cheap woven bags became the one thing that could hold a whole life's belongings for the journey home. The phrase "Ghana must go" — reportedly a slogan of the moment — stuck to the bags themselves, and the name endured long after the event. For many in the Ghanaian and wider West African community it is a bag tied to memory and resilience, not just convenience. We mention the origin out of respect, not as a punchline.
Why the diaspora still ships in them
Decades on, the Ghana Must Go has become a quiet hero of diaspora shipping. When families in the UK send clothes, fabric, shoes, provisions and gifts back to relatives in Ghana, Nigeria and across West Africa, these bags are often how the goods travel. They are far cheaper than buying boxes, they squash to fill awkward container space, and an empty one folds flat for the recipient to reuse. Alongside the shipping barrel, the Ghana Must Go is one of the two iconic vessels of "sending things home."
How to pack one so it survives sea freight
A sea voyage from the UK to West Africa is rough on luggage — bags are stacked, leaned on and handled many times. To make sure yours arrives intact:
- Don't overstuff to bursting. A bag packed until the zip strains will split at the seams. Leave a little give.
- Reinforce the zip and seams with strong parcel tape, and tape right around the bag in both directions like a parcel.
- Line it with a bin liner before packing to keep contents dry if the bag gets wet in transit or storage.
- Keep each bag to a sensible weight — roughly 25–30 kg so handlers can lift it and it doesn't tear under its own load.
- Label clearly inside and out with the recipient's name and phone number; tags fall off.
- Avoid liquids, glass and anything banned — ask us first if unsure.
Shipping your bags and barrels with Rolats
When your Ghana Must Go bags are packed, Rolats ships them from our Dagenham depot to Ghana, Nigeria and around 45 African countries — by sea cargo from £70 per bag (call or email for a quote) or by air at £5.90/kg plus £20 handling when you need it there fast. We collect across the UK, handle the customs paperwork (we're HMRC Customs Authorised), and deliver door-to-door. Whether it's a couple of bags of clothes or a full barrel of provisions for Christmas, your goods travel with people who do this every week.