On 9 October 2026, Ghana welcomed 1,568 newly qualified lawyers at the 63rd Call to the Bar ceremony. Congratulations to them all.
But the occasion raises a fundamental question: Are we producing the professionals needed to transform our economy, or merely celebrating professional prestige?
According to Afrobarometer’s 2024 Ghana survey, published in December 2025, only 35% of Ghanaians trusted the courts, 44% perceived widespread judicial corruption, and 62% believed powerful individuals frequently influenced judicial decisions.
More lawyers have not necessarily produced greater public confidence in justice.
Equally, legal education cannot substitute for the scientific, technical and industrial capabilities needed for economic transformation.
Lessons From Singaporeand China
In From Third World to First, Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, reflected on the development challenges facing countries such as Ghana and Nigeria.
Lee was himself a lawyer. His country’s transformation nevertheless demonstrates the importance of combining strong institutions with scientific education, engineering, industrialisation and disciplined implementation.
Nkrumah recognised these priorities through investments in technical education, research and industry. Six decades later, have we maintained that ambition?
As Ghana’s Ambassador to China, I witnessed how deliberately China connected education, scientific research and industrial policy.
China also cultivated technically trained leaders: Jiang Zemin studied electrical engineering; Hu Jintao, hydraulic engineering; Wen Jiabao, geological engineering; and Xi Jinping, chemical engineering.
My subsequent PhD studies in China reinforced the importance of empirical evidence, quantitative analysis and measurable outcomes.
The lesson is simple: Qualifications matter, but national productivity matters more.
Are We Using Ghana’s Engineers?
Ghana has produced distinguished technically trained leaders, including P. V. Obeng, Yaw Osafo-Maafo and Vice-President Joseph de Graft-Johnson.
Yet technical expertise remains underutilised in public administration.
Consider our deteriorating roads and the thousands of lives lost annually through road accidents.
Engineers should guide road design, construction, supervision and certification. Instead, political considerations too frequently influence technical decisions, contractor selection and payments.
Politicians must establish priorities and approve budgets. Professionals must provide independent technical judgement, supported by transparent procurement and institutional accountability.
A minister may prioritise a road. That does not make the minister a highway engineer.
Beyond Engineering
Modern economies depend on mathematicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, computer scientists, geologists, agricultural specialists and skilled technicians.
These professionals drive manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, energy, biotechnology and agricultural productivity.
Lawyers remain indispensable in protecting rights, regulating commerce and strengthening institutions. But legal expertise must complement, not displace, technical capability.
Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery illustrates Africa’s industrial potential while exposing its dependence on imported specialised expertise.
Why should resource-rich Africa continue relying on others to process its own resources?
Ghana’s STEM Revolution
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo deserves recognition for expanding STEM education and technical training.
I particularly commend former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum for his vision and leadership.
By late 2024, seven STEM academies were operational, enrolling approximately 4,750 students.
These investments deserve continuity across governments.
However, training scientists without creating industries and opportunities to utilise their knowledge defeats the purpose.
A National SkillsBalance Sheet
Ghana continues exporting cocoa while importing processed chocolate and producing gold, bauxite and manganese without capturing sufficient downstream value.
I propose an annual National Skills Balance Sheet measuring the professionals Ghana trains, employs and retains against national development requirements.
It should identify shortages across law, engineering, science, medicine, agriculture, education and technical trades; track migration and unemployment; and guide scholarships, research funding and industrial policy.
Political parties must demonstrate how their manifesto promises correspond with available or realistically attainable national capabilities.
Four priorities are essential: establish the Skills Balance Sheet; align education and scholarships with economic needs; adequately fund research, laboratories, apprenticeships and TVET; and protect independent professional judgement from political interference.
Public procurement must develop local expertise, and research must translate into production.
The Choice Before Ghana
Every profession matters. But professional prestige cannot substitute for national productivity.
We cannot litigate our way into industrialisation, engineer our way into justice, or build a nation through professional titles alone.
Government, Parliament, universities, industry and the professions must develop an integrated national strategy connecting education, skills and industrial production.
Ghana can continue producing credentials while importing expertise and exporting raw materials—or build the capabilities that transform knowledge into factories, innovation, justice and prosperity.
Future generations will not ask how many lawyers we called to the Bar.
They will ask whether we built the institutions, skills and industries that enabled Ghana to prosper from its own resources.
The writer is a former Ghanaian Ambassador to China and former Director-General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA).
