Kids raised in the diaspora won’t come when you die – Bagbin warns Ghanaian parents

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has advised Ghanaian parents against raising children abroad, warning it weakens family bonds and national identity.

Speaking to an audience on Monday, Mr. Bagbin argued that parents who relocate young children overseas in pursuit of better opportunities risk losing their emotional connection with them and, ultimately, their commitment to Ghana.

He said children raised outside the country from infancy often grow up without strong ties to their extended families or their homeland.

“Many of you who rush your children abroad to study, I beg you, you don’t love your children. Those you carry as babies and send there may not even come back for your funeral because you know you are going to lose them,” he said.

According to the Speaker, parents should instead allow their children to complete their early education in Ghana before considering overseas studies at more advanced levels.

“When they study here and get to the stage of maturity and want to advance, Masters, PhD, then you can,” he added.

Mr. Bagbin maintained that children raised abroad from an early age are less likely to develop a sense of patriotism or attachment to their families and country.

“Those you carry as babies and send there won’t even come for your funeral. They don’t know you. They don’t like your country. They don’t have any attachment. There is no patriotism there,” he said.

He also contrasted family life in Ghana with what he described as more individualistic societies abroad, claiming that family relationships and community values are not as deeply rooted in those countries.

“They don’t know what is a family. Over there, there is nothing like that. If there is something smelling in the house they call law enforcement. And you send them to go and be there. Please, I beg you, let’s change,” he urged.

His comments come amid continuing discussions about birth tourism, a practice in which some middle- and upper-class families from countries including Ghana and Nigeria travel to nations such as the United States and Canada, where birthright citizenship is granted, to secure foreign citizenship and future opportunities for their children.

Although giving birth abroad is not inherently illegal, authorities in some destination countries have intensified scrutiny because of cases involving visa fraud, misrepresentation, and the organized exploitation of immigration systems.