NO RETURN: “I wanted to come back” — Adjei-Maafo Reveals Why he Returned to Ghana After his PhD

For many young Ghanaians today, leaving the country in search of greener pastures has become a dream or, as it is popularly called, a plan to “jakpa.”

The hope is to find better opportunities abroad, earn more money and build a more secure future far from home.

But Dr Isaac Kofi Adjei-Maafo’s story offers an ironic contrast.

After completing his PhD in Australia, he had the opportunity to remain abroad and pursue the opportunities available to him there.

Instead, he chose to return to Ghana.

The decision came after his PhD defence, when members of the panel asked him whether he would go back to Africa.

His answer was immediate.

“I wanted to come back.”

Speaking to Kafui Dey, Dr Adjei-Maafo recalled that returning home was not a decision forced on him by a lack of options. He had studied abroad, gained valuable experience and could have built a life outside Ghana.

But for him, the purpose of travelling abroad was not simply to leave.

It was to learn.

And after acquiring that knowledge, he believed he had a responsibility to bring it home and use it to contribute to Ghana’s development.

For Dr Adjei-Maafo, returning to Ghana was not a failure to take advantage of foreign opportunities. It was a deliberate choice, one rooted in patriotism, purpose and a desire to serve.

“Serving your country gives you pride,” he said.

His decision eventually led him into public service, where he became one of Ghana’s youngest ministers.

That path may seem unusual at a time when many young people are looking for every possible route out of the country. For them, leaving Ghana often represents hope. For Dr Adjei-Maafo, however, coming back represented the fulfilment of a different kind of hope. The hope that what he had gained abroad could make a difference at home.

His story raises an uncomfortable question for a generation eager to “jakpa”: what happens to Ghana when everyone who acquires skills and experience abroad decides not to return?

Dr Adjei-Maafo’s answer was personal.

He believed that the knowledge he gained overseas would be most meaningful if he brought it back to the country that had shaped him.

So, after years abroad, he returned to Ghana.

Not because he had run out of options.

But because he had chosen a purpose.

“I wanted to come back”, he told Kafui Dey