Security Consultant, Richard Kumadoe, has expressed his sympathy to families who lost their loved ones during the recent Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment exercise.
Mr Kumadoe called for urgent reforms in how the military handles its recruitment process.
According to him, even “the Police Service would never assemble that many people in one place the way the military has done, it is time for creativity, innovation, and strategy.
Addressing the overwhelming number of applicants, the consultant stated that while the desire to serve one’s country is commendable, many of the youth are not driven by patriotism but by the harsh realities of unemployment, seeing the military as one of the few available means of economic survival.
“If you look at the faces of these young people, many of them do not understand what it means to be in the Army. Joining the military isn’t an employment opportunity, it’s a service to country. But because of the lack of jobs, anyone gets up and says they want to join the Army,” Mr. Kumadoe said on Onua FM’s Yen Nsempa.
He stressed that joining the Army requires sacrifice, discipline, and endurance, qualities he fears are missing in many of the current applicants.
“When you look at their faces, do you see endurance? Do they look like people who want to endure something?” he questioned, emphasizing the need for more thorough screening and orientation before enlistment.
Mr. Kumadoe noted that while the GAF may have to conduct background checks, physical selections, and fitness tests, the approach of assembling thousands of applicants in one location was a major error.
He urged the military hierarchy to review its recruitment structure, emphasizing that “the GAF must sit up and put its affairs in order” to prevent a repeat of such tragedies.
Addressing public concerns linking the incident to the absence of a substantive Minister for Defence following the passing of Dr. Omane Boamah, the consultant dismissed the connection, stating that the tragedy was purely a military operational failure.
“The lack of a minister is not the reason for the stampede. This is purely a military recruitment issue where the GAF must take responsibility for their actions. That is why we are where we are,” he said.
Mr. Kumadoe added that in other jurisdictions, accountability would have been swift.
“If this were a white man’s country, people would have resigned by now,” he stated. “When it comes to military decision-making at the highest level, it’s done at the Cabinet level. This has nothing to do with politicians, it has everything to do with the Army.”
He acknowledged the importance of filling the ministerial vacancy but questioned the role of deputy ministers in ensuring administrative continuity.
“I agree there has to be a minister, but what is the role of a deputy minister in our democracy?” he queried.
Mr. Kumadoe’s comments add to growing public calls for accountability and reform within the GAF following the incident, as the nation continues to mourn those who lost their lives.
