Ghana has spent nearly seven decades talking. It is now time to become a nation of builders, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, declared on Friday.
Delivering the keynote address at the maiden Ghana Business Leaders’ Conclave in Accra, the monarch urged a decisive shift in national mindset.
“We must move from slogans to production, from lamentations to enterprise, from dependency to value creation, from promises to hard road work with discipline, sacrifice and innovation,” Otumfuo said to a packed auditorium of students, business leaders, politicians, and traditional rulers.
The event, themed “Leading with Integrity, Negotiation, Mediation and Ethical Governance for Business Sustainability,” was organised by the Otumfuo Centre for Traditional Leadership (OCTL) at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), the Asantehene’s alma mater, formerly the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS).
According to Otumfuo Osei Tutu, Ghana’s next ten years must be defined by purpose and productivity.
“Our energies must be directed towards building a strong ethical and sustainable economy,” he said, adding that political leaders must continue to create the right environment, policy framework, and stability for growth.
But he emphasised that the responsibility does not rest on the government alone.
“The duty to create, innovate and build enterprises, create jobs and add value to our natural resources rests also on citizens, entrepreneurs, professionals, and institutions such as universities,” he said.
The Asantehene warned that Ghana’s experience with leadership has become deeply conflicted.
“Every four or eight years, we welcome leaders with great hope, yet too often, loyalty is shot wide, trust is fragile, and our heroes turn out to be disappointments,” he stressed.
He noted that the erosion of trust has extended beyond politics into business, banking, boardrooms, marketplaces, and even classrooms.
“Democracy requires elections, but nation-building requires trust. Democracy changes governance, but trust sustains societies. We may change leaders through the ballot box, but if we do not rebuild confidence in one another, we shall weaken the very foundation on which the republic rests.”
On integrity, Otumfuo Osei Tutu said it goes beyond textbook definitions.
“Integrity defines how a person behaves when no one is watching, how a leader acts when given power, or how a manager decides when profit is at stake.”
He listed honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage as the six indispensable pillars of business success.
“The first task of a business leader is to build trust,” he said. “The person who has risen to the position of chief executive must not assume that wisdom begins and ends with him. Arrogance is not leadership.”
He stressed that a leader who cannot relate appropriately with colleagues, the board, staff, and customers lacks the skills to run a sustainable business.
“Humility is a virtue. No matter how high you may be, you must agree that you are only one in a long chain of actors who must combine forces to produce success.”
Turning to students, the Asantehene offered a sharp moral admonition.
“Do not admire wealth without asking how it was made. Do not admire power without asking how it was used. Do not admire success without asking who suffered for it.
“Do not measure greatness only by cars or by all sorts of titles. Measure greatness by honesty, service, discipline, and the readiness to do the right thing when wrong is profitable.”
The Ghana Business Leaders’ Conclave is the flagship thought leadership programme of the OCTL at UPSA, aimed at fostering ethical governance and business sustainability.
