President of Celltel Networks Limited, Dr. Primce Kofi Kludjeson took his turn on the latest episode of the Y Leaderboard Series. The renowned Ghanaian figure opened up to host, Rev. Erskine about his remarkable life journey, marked by personal loss, challenges, and an unwavering determination to empower others.
Born in Kumasi, Dr. Kludjeson grew up in a family deeply rooted in Ghanaian heritage. His father, Chief of Hiave, in the Volta Region, instilled in him a sense of duty and ambition. However, tragedy struck at a young age when his father passed away, abruptly altering the trajectory of his life. Reminiscing about that fateful day, Dr. Kludjeson vividly recalled the heartbreaking moment he learned of his father’s demise, abruptly shattering his dreams of secondary school education.
“That day I had my chop box by the road side to secondary school. You know as a student I was very excited until I was brought back home to be informed that he had passed that very morning. So that ended my secondary school dreams.”
Forced to abandon his academic aspirations, Dr. Kludjeson faced an uncertain future. He persevered through secindary school but found it challenging to determine his next steps. While his mother advocated for him to attend a training college, Dr. Kludjeson’s ambition aligned with becoming a businessman in Accra.
The allure of his father’s experiences, meeting influential figures from town commissioners to businesspeople, inspired his entrepreneurial spirit. Despite his mother’s wishes, he left the training college after just two weeks, opting to return to their village and assist with farming instead.
“My mother wanted me to go to training college but I also wanted to be an Accra businessman because my father while he was a chief had a lot of people come around, from district commissioners to business people so that was it. My mother pushed on and I went to training college but later and about two weeks I run away. I came back to continue the weeding of farms and that made my mother very sad at that time,” he recounted.
However, fate intervened when his uncle, a chief driver, offered him an opportunity at the Kpong water works. Dr. Kludjeson’s dedication and hard work caught the attention of his superiors, and he swiftly rose from labourer to messenger.
An exciting prospect arose when the opportunity to send employees to Germany for specialized water laboratory training emerged. Dr. Kludjeson was thrilled at the possibility, but his dreams were thwarted by an act of sabotage.
“My boss decided that I should be part of it and I was very excited at that young age. But when it got to the final periods I was sabotaged. The accountant who was there at the time put his son there in place of me. So that ended that life for me,” he said.
Despite the setbacks he faced, Dr. Kludjeson’s unwavering resilience guided him toward a path of empowerment and leadership. Today, as the President of Celltel Networks Limited, he seeks to make a positive impact on individual lives and serve as a role model, especially for those residing in remote villages. His ultimate goal is to shift the paradigm of self-focus and encourage others to contribute to the betterment of society rather than solely extracting from it.
“I want to be remembered for empowering people and touching lives.”
His vision encompasses leaving a lasting legacy by empowering individuals, fostering positive change, and setting an example for future generations.
He firmly believes that focusing on what one can contribute to society, rather than what one can extract from it, is the key to addressing the challenges faced by the nation.
“99% of our problems stems from individuals’ focus on what they can extract from the state rather than what they can contribute to it,” he told Y 107.9 FM’s Rev Erskine.
By: Jude Tackie
