We Are Not Learning as a Country – Isaac Adongo on El-Wak Tragedy

Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee and MP for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, has criticised Ghana’s persistent failure to learn from past tragedies, following the deadly stampede at the El-Wak Stadium during a military recruitment exercise.

The incident, which claimed six lives and left several others in critical condition, has sparked widespread concern about the country’s preparedness and safety protocols for large-scale public events.

Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile, Mr. Adongo described the development as a “national tragedy,” but said the disaster also reflects a deeper national problem—Ghana’s consistent inability to reflect on past mistakes and improve.

“To be honest, what has happened is a national tragedy. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families, and we pray that those who are injured will receive the favour of God for a speedy recovery. But I want to say that as a country, we are not learning,” he said.

Mr. Adongo argued that Ghana has repeatedly failed to adopt a culture of evaluation and lesson-learning during critical national exercises. He noted that, globally, major institutions review and refine their processes after such events, yet Ghana does not follow this standard practice.

“Everywhere in the world, when you undertake these kinds of critical exercises, there is always a stage where you sit back and reflect… We have been doing recruitment for all these years, and yet we are not learning,” he added.

The MP expressed particular concern about the lack of evaluation mechanisms within the Ghana Armed Forces, an institution widely respected for its discipline, planning, and operational excellence.

“If the military, as one of the best institutions for planning and executing projects, does not have an evaluation mechanism to inform lessons from such events, then I will be surprised,” he said.

Mr. Adongo stressed that the tragedy was not an isolated occurrence but part of a broader national weakness in planning, oversight, and continuous improvement. He suggested that if Ghana had consistently reviewed past recruitment exercises, the El-Wak disaster could have been prevented.

He also pointed out that previous recruitment drives had attracted even larger crowds—sometimes up to 90,000 applicants nationwide—yet did not result in similar tragedies. According to him, the country mistook luck for success.

“Because we were lucky before, we thought the system was perfect. We didn’t learn the lessons that could have informed future events… This is a weakness we need to fix—not just in the military but across every sector,” he said.

Mr. Adongo called for a national mindset shift, urging institutions to embed evaluation and lesson-learning into their operations.

“At the end of any exercise like this, we must learn lessons and be better next time. And I think that is where we have failed as a country,” he concluded.