The Okada Trap
The appeal of Okada riding is obvious. The barrier to entry is low. The money is immediate. For a young person facing unemployment, it feels like a lifeline.
But let us be honest: it is a dead end, not a career.
Okada riding builds no transferable skills. There is no career progression, no pension, no security. A decade on the bike leaves you with nothing but road experience. And when the knees give out, or an accident happens, where does the 50-year-old former rider go?
While our youth chase daily fares, their counterparts in China, India, and South Korea are mastering technology, engineering, and innovation. They are building the solutions that will power the global market tomorrow. We are breeding riders.
Worse still, alongside the Okada boom has come a gambling addiction. Betting apps have become the new pastime. Young men glued to screens, waiting for the next match to deliver a windfall.
This is not harmless fun. It is a tax on the desperate. It replaces the patient work of skill-building with the fantasy of quick money. A generation that bets rather than builds cannot lead a nation.
—
The 10-Year Warning
If we continue on this path, Ghana will face a severe crisis within a decade:
· Major infrastructure projects will stall for lack of local skilled labour.
· A generation without transferable skills will struggle to find meaningful work.
· Our economy will fall further behind as the world advances in technology and innovation.
· We will become dependent on foreign workers for basic construction and maintenance.
—
A Call to Rethink
This is not about blaming the youth. They are responding to the opportunities available to them. The fault lies with all of us—government, educators, parents, and community leaders—for allowing these opportunities to shrink.
We must rebrand technical education. We must incentivise apprenticeships. We must teach our young people that a skilled trade is not a consolation prize; it is a pathway to dignity and wealth.
Because a nation cannot build its future on the back of Okada riders. We need tilers, electricians, plumbers, farmers, and builders. We need young people who are prepared to build, not just survive.
The choice is ours. And the time to choose is now.
—
A Scripture for Reflection
Proverbs 24:27 (NIV)
“Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.”
This ancient wisdom speaks directly to us today. There is an order to things. The fields must be prepared first—the skills, the foundations, the patient work. Only then can the house be built. Our youth are rushing to build houses (quick money, daily fares) without preparing the fields (skills, trades, knowledge). We must guide them back to the fields, for that is where the future is grown.
By E.A. Randolph-Koranteng (Rev)
Author of the Book “Tomorrow Happened Yesterday “ on Amazon.com
Idea Champions Center
—
What are your thoughts on this issue? Share in the comments below.
