'Glorious Ghana' Bleeds from Decades of Political Failure: Black Wednesday

Yesterday, November 12th, 2025, social media was flooded with images of hopeful applicants gathering at the El Wak Stadium in Accra for a military screening exercise. Every regional capital saw an overwhelming turnout of young people vying for a chance to join the army. Many of those interviewed expressed desperation, having been unemployed for years after completing their education. The scenes were disheartening, and the situation took a tragic turn when six applicants lost their lives and many others were injured in a stampede.

This tragedy was avoidable, and the poor arrangement is a stark reminder of the nation's failure to address its pressing issues. The underlying problem is the alarming rate of youth unemployment in Ghana. Our tertiary institutions continue to churn out graduates with degrees that often lack relevance in today’s job market. Our educational system relies heavily on the outdated colonial era clerk curriculum and keep overproducing soft/paper degrees without jobs to absorb them, forgetting we need a productive local industry first and foremost to do so.

The lack of employment opportunities has led to widespread disillusionment among the youth. Many are questioning the value of their degrees and feeling hopeless about their future. We have underdeveloped our human capital, and this is a failure of governments over the years in this country and Africa at large.

Young people come out of school and realise there are very limited employment opportunities. Sadly, this desperation drives some young Africans to risk their lives on treacherous journeys seeking to reach Europe for better prospects. The fact that African youth are willing to risk everything for a chance at a better life is a scathing indictment of Africa's leadership.

Many of those young people know the risk involved but will rather die at sea than keep on hopeless in their respective countries as noted in my earlier project - Still Here and most recently a project titled Glorious Ghana.

Ghana, a beacon of hope and African pride which was the first to gain independence from colonial rule, now finds itself grappling with decades of political mismanagement, leading to harsh economic conditions, high levels of poverty and unemployment. Politicians rob the state of resources that can create employment for the youth. Government policies over the years enable high import dependency that negatively affects domestic production, which should create local wealth and employment. The rise of illegal mining and galamsey is a direct consequence of our failure to create employment opportunities and manage our resources effectively. And our nation continues to bleed from all these.

It's time for us to acknowledge the gravity of this crisis and take decisive action. Youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb that threatens the stability of any nation that doesn't take it seriously. We cannot afford to ignore the desperation and frustration that is building among our young people. Our youth are the future, and it's our responsibility to provide them with the opportunities they deserve. We must work towards creating a brighter future for Ghana, one that is driven by local production, innovation, and job creation. The future of our nation depends on it.