Togbe Afede XIV; Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State
It is May 25, 1989. A 32-year-old Ghanaian from Ho Bankoe in the Volta Region walks, amidst applause, to a dais within the precincts of Yale University in the United States to receive his MBA award.
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His two years of hard work, in what could be described as one of the most prestigious universities in the world, has borne fruit. As he walks back to his seat, he begins to think about how his newly acquired degree would impact on lives back home.
He thinks about using his newly acquired knowledge to help in his country’s forward march, but he acknowledges the fact that it was going to be a long and difficult journey to success. He was even lucky to have been admitted into Yale and to have come out with an MBA, considering his poor background.
But the young man, named James Akpo, was determined. As he sits and watches other graduates walk to the dais for their certificates, he quietly sings to himself a line from Jimmy Cliff’s 1970s hit song: “I’ve got a hard road to travel....but I can’t turn back, my heart is fixed, my mind’s made up, I’ll never stop, my faith will see me through.”
Fifteen years later, James Akpo was to become a successful man by all standards, establishing Strategic African Securities, a stock brokerage firm; Strategic Initiatives Ltd, a private equity and portfolio investment firm and Sunon Asogli Power Ltd, an energy firm, supplying the country with 560 megawatts of power using natural gas, among many others. The Asogli Power Plant was built in collaboration with Chinese investors.
He was also to be installed the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, with the stool name Togbe Afede XIV. And since he ascended the Asogli stool, he has assisted in lifting the sinking image of the chieftaincy institution by being at the forefront of development efforts in his area. He has made traditional authority relevant.
Speaking about the problems that confront his people in his inaugural address on October 4, 2003, he said: “These are problems of our time and they deserve solution during our time. This is my pledge: I will work hard to build a new Asogli that is full of opportunity for all.”
Now aged 56, Togbe Afede still has his eyes on the ball and is determined to further improve the lives of the people within his traditional area and Ghana as a whole.
Birth and Early Life
Togbe Afede was born in Ho in the Volta Region on April 23, 1957 to the late Cpl Patrick Akpo and Madam Rose Anyawoe from Ho Bankoe. Being the grandson of Herman Ladzi Akpo, a renowned Catechist and Educationist, Togbe, together with his late twin brother, Phillip Akpo, was enrolled at the Ho Bankoe Roman Catholic Boys School in 1961 at the age of four.
After eight years of elementary education, Togbe entered Kpedze Secondary School in 1969 and successfully completed his GCE ‘O’ Level in 1974. He then proceeded to the Labone Secondary School in Accra, where he excelled in the GCE ‘A’ Level examination in 1976. He earned his BSc in Administration (Accounting) from the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1979 and later an MBA from Yale.
Early Working Life
Togbe did his post-graduation national service at the erstwhile Bank for Housing (1979-1980), where, as a planning officer, he performed financial analysis of loan application projects, established and negotiated short-term and long-term loans and financial packages for clients.
Between 1981 and 1984, Togbe worked with the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) as an accountant. Togbe subsequently lectured in Economics and Accounting at the Sokoto State Polytechnic School of Management Studies in Nigeria (1985-1987).
Because of lack of financial resources, Togbe was unable to take up offers of admission to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 and admission with fellowship awards to Standford University’s Graduate School of Business in 1985.
After committing his scanty resources to the pursuit of his Wharton and Stanford aspirations, Togbe was unable to file any application in 1986. However, he was awarded a substantial fellowship by Yale University, so Togbe finally received his MBA from the Yale School of Management in May, 1989.
Self-Employment
In 1989, he returned to Ghana and accepted an appointment as a lecturer at the School of Administration, University of Ghana, Legon. He taught Financial Accounting (BSc) and Accounting (MBA) until 1994.
During that time, he co-founded Databank Financial Services Ltd.
At the end of 1993, he left Databank and founded Strategic African Securities (SAS), also a stock brokerage firm. He is currently the CEO of Strategic Initiatives Ltd, a private equity and portfolio investments firm that he founded in 1999.
Membership of Boards and Committees
Togbe, at one time or the other, has been a member of the board of directors of the following organisations: Aluworks, an aluminium rolling mill; Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club Ltd, Ghana’s premier Football Club and the Bank of Ghana.
Other institutions are Navigator Communications and Technology Co Ltd and Pioneer Kitchenware Ltd, an aluminium holloware manufacturer.
He is also the founder of theNavigator Communications and Technology Co Ltd.
Philosophy
Togbe’s outlook is influenced by a set of beliefs. Among them is the belief that “success should be measured not only by the level one has attained, but also by the obstacles one had to overcome while trying to succeed.” He sees difficulties as part of life. To him, a new obstacle is only another challenge, and a life that is not tested is not worth living.
Togbe has a positive attitude. In the conduct of his business, therefore, his focus is on the opportunities, not the difficulties. He believes that success requires hard work, imagination, honesty, altruism and absolute commitment to one’s chosen career.
Upcoming Projects
Togbe has initiated moves to establish, with the help of foreign investors, a 1,000 megawatt power plant which would be powered by coal imported from South Africa. The project is likely to commence by September, this year.
Perhaps the biggest project that would be embarked upon by the revered King is the $1.5 billion Gold Coast City Project, which would consist of hotels, shopping malls, banks and other financial institutions, residential flats, medical and educational facilities. One hundred and sixty acres of land, stretching from the Arts Centre to the land near the Christianborg Castle, has been acquired for the project. However, some “powerful officials”, according to Togbe, are putting impediments in the way and making it difficult for the project to take off.
“These projects are not about making money. It is about helping to solve the problems of the country and the honour that goes with it,” he told the Daily Graphic.
Just after I left his office at the World Trade Centre in Accra, I called a friend who helped me reach Togbe, and in my conversation with him, he said:”
If all our traditional rulers were to dispense their energies in working with outside investors to develop their local communities, instead of engaging in bitter and expensive disputes, Ghana would be a better place.”I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with the statement.
By Mark-Anthony Vinorkor/Ghana