In today’s Ghana, it has quietly become accepted that the three easiest pathways to the kind of success our society celebrates are illegal mining, internet fraud and politics. They are very different activities, yet they share one uncomfortable truth: they offer the fastest route to wealth, visibility and influence in a system where legitimate ladders are few and slow.
Galamsey promises quick money for the young man who has no access to capital but has a strong back and a willingness to take risks. Fraud promises even faster returns for those with digital skills and social manipulation techniques. And politics, for many, has become a career of opportunity rather than service, where access to power often becomes access to personal gain.
A new and dangerous phenomenon is emerging from this mix. There is growing cross-fertilisation among these three groups, where some fraudsters and galamsey operators now sponsor politicians or quietly enter the political space themselves. This allows them to legitimise and protect their illegal activities, expand their networks, and operate with even greater impunity. The harm to society is severe because it links underground crime directly with formal governance, weakening the very institutions meant to stop such abuses.
These shortcuts are symptoms of a deeper national problem. When merit-based systems are weak, when industries cannot absorb the energy of the youth, when effort does not reliably produce progress, people naturally gravitate towards whatever works. In Ghana today, what seems to work fastest are these problematic avenues.
The danger is not only economic. It is moral. It normalises the idea that reward comes from bending or breaking systems, not building them. It creates a society where the patient teacher, the honest technician and the disciplined entrepreneur feel like fools for playing by the rules. Once this mindset takes root, it becomes difficult to sustain strong institutions, trust or long-term development.
The solution is not simply to condemn galamsey, fraud or the excesses of politics. Ghana has done that for years with little change. The real task is to make legitimate pathways more attractive than shortcuts. This means building industries that pay fairly, supporting small businesses with real credit access, improving vocational training, and ensuring that public service rewards competence rather than connections.
We cannot keep blaming the youth for choosing the only doors that appear open. Instead, we must redesign the house. If Ghana wants a future shaped by integrity, innovation and industry, we must build opportunities that compete with the shortcuts. Until then, galamsey, fraud and politics will remain the fastest and most tempting routes to the success we claim to admire but rarely earn the right way.