One of the clearest signs of political bankruptcy is when leaders promise the youth nothing beyond recruitment slots in the security services.

Such thinking belongs more to countries at war than to a nation seeking economic transformation.

Sadly, all parties, regardless of ideology, have been guilty of this same inanity, offering symbolic, non-productive “solutions” rather than building real opportunity.

In a country where virtually every pair of jeans, boxer shorts, handkerchief, or brassiere worn by the youth is imported, the absurdity of such promises becomes painfully clear.

We consume what others produce, from the clothes on our backs to the undergarments closest to our skin, and yet politicians still parade police, immigration, fire, and prison service recruitment as if these are meaningful economic solutions.

Expanding the security payroll does not create wealth. It merely expands the burden on an already strained and depressed public purse.

Security institutions are essential, but they cannot become the default employment program for a generation of young people.

Equally baffling is the recent spectacle of deploying unemployed zero skills youth to Black Stars matches to create stadium atmosphere. It may produce television optics and momentary excitement, but it does nothing to build the future of those young people.

The same money could instead support vocational training, technical apprenticeships, and enterprise development that provide sustainable lifetime skills.

A country that imports almost everything its citizens wear, eat, and use should be mobilizing its youth to produce, design, manufacture, and build. That is where the real jobs lie.

Ghana does not need leaders who manage unemployment through patronage schemes. It needs leaders who expand production. Nations rise when leaders focus on creation, not distribution.