Okudzeto Filling Stations, Rare Kind James Kwesi Appiah And What He Needs For Success        

Oil business from all indications looks a very lucrative business. It is said to be one of the main sources of the Rockefeller family fortunes. Great grandfather, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil, of which various components were later merged to form Exxon. The family after 146 years in the oil industry announced its exit from the business.

The family felt Exxon as a company through sponsored research has been misleading the public about how much fossil fuel contribute to climate change.

Here in Ghana, visionary Tsatsu Tsikata laid a solid foundation for Ghana’s oil find. For instance, the petroleum sector policy, the all-important seismic data on which successors thereon relied for further oil exploratory works and productions, the legal regime on oil among others were established.

Sir Sam Jonah has in an article expressed disappointment over the country’s non-recognition of the pioneering role of Mr Tsatsu Tsikata in Ghana's oil find. Ghana must be a country that honors her heroes.

That is just by the way.
This piece takes a look at two issues including one that I am sure you have also heard a couple of times; that Member of Parliament [MP] for North Tongu, Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa owns numerous fuel filling stations here in the city and elsewhere.

I have ever chanced upon one of such conversations involving the driver of the vehicle, his mate and some other two men occupying the front passenger seats and could not believe the things I heard aboard the Aburi –Accra bound transport. It was stunning!

It all commenced just by the name of the former Deputy Minister in an unrelated news item on Peace fm’s early morning bulletins.

Barely had the news caster mentioned the name, the driver blurted in Twi:

“A very young man with a lot of filling stations, perhaps he wishes to own the world.”

“Master, have you heard that he owns the new station in East Legon too? I heard he owns it.” The mate who every other minute stuck out his neck in search of passengers along the road chipped in.

I was partly engrossed in a write–up online but the mate’s claim aroused my curiosity, I rummaged my brain for the possible new filling station. The one which readily sprung to mind but un-operational at the time- November 2016 was one station along Trinity Avenue just after the Seminary towards UPSA.

I could not immediately figure out which Oil Marketing Company [OMC] owns it but days later and with the help of google map, I realized it is for Allied Ghana [Allied Oil].

But in the course of the journey, the other 2 men in-front who appeared as public transport drivers also joined; one citing many other filling stations including one at Hansonic, another at Kwame Nkrumah circle supposedly owned by Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Someway somehow, attention shifted to NDC’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah’s and the claim he owns a magnificent edifice in Oyarifa.

Gossips of this kind, sometimes it is the possible effect on unsuspecting persons and in this case, the passengers aboard the vehicle that makes me wonder.

Considering the effect of this issue, Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa has been reluctant to speak. I believe a reaction from the former Deputy Minister is important.

However, the little I have found out through some research; Allied Oil now Allied Ghana is owned by some of the Okudzetos family just as Glory Oil by a Dzikunu family, Star Oil owned by a Kaledzi, Unity Oil by Dr Kwame Kyei among others.

Allied Ghana of a six member board has Daniel Kofi Okudzeto as Executive Chairman, Elliot Mawuli Okudzeto as MD/CEO and Ernest Kwaku Okudzeto also as Board Member. The company started operations as far back as late 1990s even before the MP ventured into mainstream politics.

It is not out of place for the MP to own a couple of fuel filling stations but to credit him with every other filling station around, and in mischievous U-turn seeks to question the source of wealth as though he is the only Okudzeto is just unfair.

Symptomatic of the NPP; targeting the industrious appointees to destroy. Hard and electronic copies of fabricated claims developed as fliers which party foot soldiers, sympathizers shared with craze.

Aside that, I recalled the Hon Kyei Mensah Bonsu led-Minority noise when the regulator, Bank of Ghana decided to halt further injection of pension funds into Merchant Bank for a private participation which the bank needed. The NPP termed the decision as President Mahama’s self-acquisition of the bank which Hon Mensah Bonsu promised Minority’s inquisition; the public is yet to see any such report.

PNC’s Atik Mohammed also led a crusade against the bank, urging account holders to close their accounts.

Merchant Bank today is Universal Merchant Bank [UMB] and the strides are enormous out of which a $100 million support for the Planting for Food and Jobs program had been made.

As if that is not enough, days to the 2016 polls, campaign spokesperson, Mustapha Hamid and NPP’s Northern Regional Chair, Bugri Naabu hatched a plot, held a press conference to accuse H.E. John Mahama of bribery of political opponents.

Earlier, Mustapha Hamid had questioned President John Mahama’s decision to accept the GITMO 2 in Ghana claiming it was for personal gains instead of humanitarian grounds.

As if by design, the Supreme Court ruling on the interpretations of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution [GITMO 2 case] with options including either Parliamentary ratification of the agreement regularizing their stay or the 2 are sent away - meets NPP’s expectation in opposition.

Minister for Information, Mustapha Hamid quickly issued a release indicating the 2 will stay. Wonders…

Very recently on Asempa fm, Mustapha Hamid revealed that the most adhesive tag to place on a politician is to without basis describe one as corrupt and to continually repeat. Is this not instructive and telling, especially about the campaign strategy of the NPP in the 2016 elections?

The danger however, that kind of politics will only succeed in scaring away some of the country’s finest brains and capable hands from venturing it, presenting the country with a risk of being deprived of equally valuable contributions if not more towards development.

James Kwesi Appiah, the unappreciated prophet

As usual of us, instead of offering unflinching support, some have in earnest started finding fault, casting insinuations about the technical capacity of Black Stars coach, Kwesi Appiah after the drawn game against Congo in a World Cup qualifier at the Baba Yara sports stadium.

As to how anyone will seek to lay squarely any blame at the doorstep of Kwesi Appiah who superintended only 2 games – out of which he garnered four points out of six beats my imagination.

Has it to do with the fact that Kwesi Appiah is a local? Calm and humble, not hot headed and so being taken for granted? My observation is that we hardly extend same treatment to others especially expatriates hired for same job.

Kwesi’s predecessor, Avram Grant could garner only a single point from 2 world cup games but critics found nothing wrong with such abysmal performances. Grant and the GFA seemed to be monsters and so humble Kwesi Appiah must bear their iniquities. How sad.

After Avram Grant’s exit, Kwesi Appiah was tasked to endevour to qualify Ghana to the 2018 world cup in Russia whereas his predecessor had a 2015 AFCON mandate to “go and try,” as to what that means.

The Ghana Football Association [GFA] has consistently been unfair and disrespectful of James Kwesi Appiah and other local coaches and that is de-motivating.

Elsewhere, unlike Kwesi Appiah, senior national teams’ coaches who emerged just the same way [as assistants taking over from their superiors] only needed not betrayals but total support of the respective FAs and optimist fans to achieve successes.

Aimer Jacquet, a world cup winning coach with the French national team, Les Blues is one of such Classic examples;

In the months that followed the Euro 96, Jacquet taking over as an assistant coach honed his team's skills in a series of friendly matches. He adopted a very defensive strategy which fans never appreciated. The press began to attack the team manager, calling his methods "Paleolithic" and claiming that the team had no hope for the 1998 World Cup.

Jacquet, taciturn by nature, did not rise to the baiting, preferring to concentrate on helping his team rather than playing the media game.

In June 1997 at Le Tournoi, cries of "Resign!" could be heard from the stadium as the French team finished third behind England and Brazil, only coming out ahead of Italy by virtue of goal difference. The press continued to label Jacquet incompetent.

The media's distrust of Jacquet reached fever pitch in May 1998 when, instead of a list of 22 players meant to play in the World Cup, Jacquet gave a list of 28 players, causing the sports daily L'Équipe to write an editorial arguing that Jacquet was not the right man to lead the French team to victory.

However, all that changed when the team began to play in the play-off rounds for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It was clear that though Jacquet's team was far from being the most flamboyant in French history, it was a perfectly well-oiled machine that neither injury, nor expulsions, nor suspensions, managed to stop. On 12 July 1998, France soundly beat Brazil 3–0 in the Final.

The confidence the French Football Association leaders had in Jacquet to deliver coupled with the support enjoyed during the difficult times helped.

Aside Jacquet, Germany’s Joachim Loew also emerged as an assistant, taking over in 2006 and with the required support and consistency chalked some enviable successes for his country including Brazil 2014 World Cup trophy, Confederations cup trophy among others. As is the case today, Loew’s contract has been extended to 2020 to strategically cover the 2018 World Cup and 2020 Euro Championship. That will be about 14 years in-charge.

Credits for improved show of the USA senior national team in the World Cup and other competitions including moving from 19th position to 4th in FIFA rankings which surprised even the players, 75 game wins which are by far the most in US history are owed to Manager, Bruce Arena after 8 years stint.

Others including Vicente Del Bosque, Otto Rehagel out of consistency have guided Spain and Greece to win trophies.

Same level of unflinching support and consistency obviously helped club managers such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Otzmar Hitsfield to club and continental successes.

Ghana’s FA and the President, Kwesi Nyantekyi and some soccer fans salivate for laurels but un-prepared to truly commit to the course of the Black Stars.

For purposes of re-lection as FA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi found every means possible to sacrifice Kwesi Appiah as coach of the Black Stars

Kwesi Nyantakyi invited Kwesi Appiah to his private office in Asylum Down only to tell him the Executive Committee of the FA want him out, a discussion the FA Executive Committee members denied ever having, Christopher Opoku [late] recounted in one of his blunt features.

Surprised as Kwesi Appiah was, he only asked the FA to put it into writing. Minutes after Kwesi Appiah exited the Asylum Down office, the news of his axing from the Black Stars job awash the media.

This was the same coach that the FA soon after the Brazil World Cup organized a press conference to renew confidence in.

Seemed obvious at a point Kwesi Nyantakyi had no message for re-election and had to find a scape goat for Brazil 2014 failures other than himself as Black Stars management committee Chairman, having him consigned with coefficient formula, sharing cash. Remember?

Kwesi Nyantakyi just after the crude removal found nicer words including “mutual disengagement,” “mutual severance” etc to be describing what he single handedly masterminded.

Were the FA leaders of the countries named above engaging in acts like Nyantakyi’s, not sure they would have come thus far. Commitment and the national interest are the drivers in such jurisdictions.

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be” – Rosalynn Carter

Joachim Loew takes about $77,000 as monthly salary, more than twice of Kwasi Appiah’s. Even that including that of his supporting staff is in arrears; not regularly paid. We never told Avram Grant stories about his $50,000 per month earnings, did we? This has all to do with leadership!

According to Dwight Eisenhower “motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they enjoy doing it.” Kwesi Appiah is not even thinking about the money even though it is key; his family and that of his supporting staff must survive, what he and the assistants need most is our prayers, goodwill, encouragement, FA’s total support even in trying times to deliver.

Today, instead of setting unrealistic targets including Russia 2018 ticket, Kwesi Appiah should rather be allowed to focus on AFCON 2019 qualification, delivering the trophy and a minimum of semifinal berth at the 2022 world cup. Effective planning!

Kwesi Appiah is highly capable. For those who have issues with his leadership style and sometimes mistaken his calm demeanor for a weakness could verify from the players themselves, not what you imagine.

Again, for me, only his dexterity in identifying talents and assembling new but solid teams marvels me. That partly characterized his qualification to the 2014 world cup and also added to the unprecedented qualification; record time qualification; great performances including heavy defeat handed Egypt; first Ghanaian/footballer to qualify the senior national team for such a competition etc.

At the World Cup, the group game against Germany which ended 2:2 remained the tournament’s best technical game. Germany proceeded to become the eventual winners of the tournament.

Believe in your own; encourage him; motivate him; resource him; guide him just as France, Germany, Spain among others do for theirs.

Rally around James Kwesi Appiah!
Wishing the Black Stars well!