Ghana says 62 of its citizens have been killed and 15 are missing after being recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa raised the issue during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, calling for an end to what he described as the illegal recruitment of Ghanaians.
Russia says foreigners fighting for its forces voluntarily sign military contracts. Ablakwa is leading a Ghanaian delegation on a three-day official visit to Russia, which is still underway. During the visit, Russia also doubled annual scholarships for Ghanaian students from 120 to 240, with priority given to AI, engineering, petroleum sciences, and pharmaceuticals.
The two countries are also discussing trade, investment, and cooperation on Ghana's plans to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
A swift and timeless response came after Edrino Greatness read an article on DW Africa's Facebook Page and responded to their post saying you will tell Russia to stop but the people themselves will go there begging to be recruited. Ghanaians are always looking for opportunity to run away from the country. Even if it's Russia they will go there ....Lol
A quick response came after a couple of minutes from DW Africa to Edrino Greatness on their post with a very beautiful reply and telling Edrino Greatness that this raises another question, can Ghana stop the recruitment if some people are willingly seeking such opportunities abroad?
According to Edrino Greatness, Ghana can't fully stop adults from making their own choices but the government does have the tools to decide what can be done to help the people from such recruitments.
The government of Ghana can put into place measures to curb this acts. They can ban recruitment agencies, crack down on companies or agents illegally recruiting for foreign militaries. That's already illegal under Ghana's laws and international norms.
The government of Ghans can put up travel advisories and public education. They can use the media, embassies and social campaigns to warn about the risks, scams and legal consequences.
The government can also work with other countries.They can ask Russia, embassies and airlines to not facilitate these recruitments from Ghana.
Government should provide alternatives for the people. The biggest lever is to provide job programs, skills training and migration pathways that are safer. If local opportunity improves the run away at any cost pressure will drop.
What Ghana can't easily do, is to stop a Ghanaian adult who buys their own ticket, gets a visa and volunteers abroad on their own. Once they're outside Ghana's jurisdiction, enforcement gets complicated.
The core issue is not about blocking Russia but it's about why people feel they have to leave. As long as the push factors like unemployment is high, low wages, lack of hope are strong, people will keep looking for exits, whether it's Russia, the Middle East, Europe or somewhere else.
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