Speech at 44th Congregation of the University of Cape Coast on Thursday, 27th September 2012

The Chairman of the University of Cape Coast Council, the outgoing and incoming Vice Chancellors, special guest, graduands, ladies and gentlemen, I consider it a special honour to have the opportunity to share a word of motivation with the graduands on this special day. It reminds me of my own graduation some 16 years ago.

Graduands, Congratulations! This is your day as you will soon be declared fresh graduates from this very respected university and I know you are not here to listen to long speeches. All you want to do is get this ceremony over and go out to take pictures and celebrate with your friends and family, so I do not intend to make the day a dreary one with a long speech. My simple message is, have hope for the future, because your future is good. But there is a proviso, and that is, only if you want your future to be good.

Privileged people

You are privileged persons, having been educated to the university level. Thus, you have acquired the single most important tool, in my humble view, that you need to find your way in life and be successful. You, only you, can make your future how you want it.

I know that most of you hope to gain jobs provided by the State and the Multinationals. I wish those persons well but I wish to advise you differently to consider creating your own jobs and wealth. Aim to be employers rather than employees.

I hear people say a degree is not enough for one to create one’s own job. You need capital to do that. I do not dispute that capital is important but I dare say that ideas and vision are far more critical than capital. This is where your privilege counts: your university education has given you the tools for critical and analytical thinking, which is the foundation for ideas generation and vision setting. To this privilege add determination and you will make headway. Examples abound of those who started with just an idea and determination and made it. As my school, St Augustine’s College’s, motto says, “Omia Vicict Labor”, meaning perseverance conquers all. You do not need to go far to find them. Here in Ghana, Kwasi Twum, CEO of Multimedia Group, my Mentor, started selling Rice in Okaishie while still in Legon, with little idea to do Radio, begun with Joy Fm when nobody believed we could make a business from Radio & he has built world class Multiple Media Broadcasting Brands. Captain (retd) Prince Kofi Amoabeng is another. With just a pair of shoes, an idea and determination, he now owns a bank. The story of Rev Dr Otabil, Kwame Despite, etc. should also inspire you. They dreamed, hoped and achieved their dreams. You can also achieve your dream to be an employer and a successful one at that. It is not good to leave the university and hope for employment from those who were not privileged to gain the education you have gained.

Be agents of change

As you go out in hope, make it your duty to bring about change that improves society for the better. You have gained knowledge that puts you ahead of most people in your community. Note you are the crème de la crème.  Affect the lives of your community positively with innovations that can make their lives a lot more comfortable. An educated person is of little value to society if they cannot make a change in their society. You have all acquired some knowledge in business management, which will be of use to businesses of your parents. For instance, if your mother deals in koko, you can help with ideas for boosting the business and making it attractive to high end customers to create more wealth for your family. You can improve the packaging, the ambience and the customer service approach to make customers feel good buying the koko. If koko has helped educate you what rights do you have to abandon it now.

Form teams

Henry Fords said – “Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress. Working together is success”.

As you try to effect change in society think of forming teams because in teamwork lies strength. Working in teams offers you the advantage of sharing ideas and drawing on each other’s strength. I am passionate about teamwork because I have realized that one of the banes of our businesspeople is that each wants to stand alone in the hope of succeeding and solely enjoying the fruits of the business.  In the end they stand small, weak and uncompetitive and are easy preys to the vigorous competitive world we find ourselves in. Note that 100% of One is less than 1% of a billion. We have aeroplanes today because the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, understood the value of teamwork. Your chances of success are brighter if you are a team. “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” H. E. Luccock

Think big but start small   – Despise not small beginnings

In working in teams to achieve success, don’t be afraid of big ideas. Be audacious. Think big. However, don’t be afraid to start small but with a clear strategy to get to your goal – the big dream. People have failed to achieve success because they sought to achieve the big dream all at once. Things don’t work that way. Bill Gates started small and followed a clear plan to get to the global corporation that Microsoft is today. You also have every potential to grow a global company or grow yourself into a global academic, if you choose to stay in academia. There are opportunities in the global world for you. There is hope ahead of you if only you will make up your mind and take the right bold step as you leave the four walls of this university.

 A reason to be hopeful
I am optimistic for you because you have the examples of many trailblazers to inspire you to greater heights.  These individuals have defied all odds to achieve their dreams. In the University of Cape Coast here, we have had the first ever-female Vice Chancellor of any university in the country, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang.  Obama is President in the White dominated and still racially segregated America . A few years ago nobody thought that these was possible, but with ‘audacity of hope’ he made it possible. I wish also to humbly submit myself as another example, insignificant as it may be. Young and a nobody who knew nobody, but with a strong faith in God and belief in self, I have become the managing director of Ghana’s most influential media organization, yes, the Graphic Communications Group Ltd.  If we, who did not have these opportunities that you have today, have been able to achieve some of our dreams, (I still have more dreams – I am not there yet!)  then you should know that there is hope for everybody. You only need self-discipline, an idea, a vision and determination, which I believe your degree has equipped you with, but it is just the beginning.  Eschew mediocrity and complacency.

And With God – Everything is possible

In a nutshell, I want you to know that if you have hope everything is possible. Not even physical disability can hinder your progress towards your dream. The stunning performances we have witnessed at the London Paralympics are amply testimony to this.

Happy graduates, I want you to understand that the only people who will fail are those sitting here with us who have agreed that because they don’t want to fail, they will not attempt anything. Failing is not failing at what you attempt to do, but failing to attempt anything at all.  Go into the world with hope and you will achieve your dream. And as a strong believer in Christ I know that with God who is available to all of us you can make it.

Congratulations! Thank you.

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