Former Member of Parliament for Assin Central and 2024 flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has challenged the youth of Ghana to embrace leadership as a personal and societal responsibility rather than a political aspiration alone.
Speaking during a Youthquake Conference at the SRC Central University under the theme “Entrepreneurship and National Development” on Thursday, May 15, 2025, he urged young people to recognize that “everyone is a leader in their own way”. He stressed that leadership extends beyond holding public office and includes the daily choices individuals make to influence their communities and peers positively.
Mr Agyapong encouraged students to see themselves as leaders in their own right, whether in the family, community, school, or workplace.
“In Ghana, we often limit leadership to politics, but that’s not true. If you have a younger sibling or a classmate who looks up to you, then you’re already a leader,” he stated.
Drawing on his personal story, Mr. Agyapong revealed that he did not come from privilege but rose through perseverance, discipline, and honesty. He reflected on his mother’s roadside food business and his father’s modest life as a retired soldier, reminding the youth that success is achievable through hard work and integrity.
“A lot of young people today want things fast. You want to be a millionaire at 22, but you don’t want to work. Life doesn’t work like that. There’s a process, and you must go through it to truly appreciate success,” he advised.
The former lawmaker emphasised four key traits every aspiring leader must possess: discipline, vision, honesty, and resilience.
He stressed that leaders must not only be well-behaved and truthful but also able to serve others selflessly and bounce back from failure.
“Leadership is not about what people can give you; it’s about what you can give to the people. How are you impacting lives? How are you changing destinies?,” he questioned.
“You can be anything you want to be. But you must be disciplined, visionary, honest, and resilient,” he added.
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