This episode peels back the curtain on the current state of university education, especially at the University of Ghana, addressing the critical question: Are we, as graduates, equipped for success after our academic endeavors? We scrutinize the stark transition from lecture halls to boardrooms and the undeniable benefits of real-world experience through internships. Delving further, we dissect the alarming shortage of soft skills among students and spotlight affirmative programs like One Student One Laptop, designed to foster research prowess and digital literacy.
Remember the student who never dreamed of leading but somehow always found themselves at the helm? That's the protagonist of our second segment – a student whose reluctant journey to university presidency unfolded with the drama of a political thriller. This tale of accidental leadership is a testament to the power of influence and social capital in the combustible arena of student politics. It's a narrative charged with internal conflicts, the clashing tides of external pressures, and the momentous decision to embrace a role that could shape not just a campus, but a personal legacy.
In our concluding piece, we brave the complex topic of bullying and the crucible it forms in shaping emotional intelligence and leadership. Through the lens of personal anecdotes and the experiences of current University of Ghana SRC President, Frank Tsikata, we examine the tightrope walk of leadership amidst adversity. This episode is not just a conversation; it's a journey through the emotional landscape of youth leadership, unpacking the resilience required to stand steadfast in one's purpose against the intoxicating pull of power. Join us for a powerful exploration of what it means to lead, learn, and leave a mark that echoes beyond university walls.
Watch the video episode of this on YouTube - https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you believe the university is preparing students
for success in life?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Number one business and self-development podcast.
Connected Minds podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of gap in between how
what a school looks like andthen what you're actually seeing
within the school that you'rein.
Now, if you're in theuniversity, you think things are
easier the moment you're donewith school, but the moment
you're getting closer tofinishing school, that is where
your reality starts hitting you.
(00:36):
If you get a chance to enterinto the career world, like
doing internships andattachments when you're in
school, it takes you closer towhat the real world looks like
when it comes to life afterschool.
So people who have had thatexperience before tend to add
more value to themselves beforethey leave school.
(00:58):
In a case where the universityis not making any deliberate
attempts to make some of thesethings easily accessible to
students, it becomes a challenge, do I mean?
People are lacking their softskills, communication wise,
using computers in this digitalage and even how to navigate
your way around being a graduateof the university.
(01:20):
All these things are not beingtaken care of.
People are not getting thechance to explore other
alternatives, like practical umside of the theory, things we do
in school, and when it comes tothe field entrepreneurship too,
there is least support when youlook at the kind of system
you're running here within thecountry.
So at the end, when studentscome out of school, we realize
(01:42):
they're really strugglingbecause they do not have any
other thing to do.
Aside the mundane way ofreading books in school and then
sitting for an exam, there'snothing else to show for it,
aside the few ones who were ableto do something impactful and
then added value to themselveswhen they were in school.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I've just started this conversation and just gone
in straight to my favoritequestion, right, I've just
started this conversation andjust gone in straight to my
favorite question, right, Ishould have really taken it slow
and build it up, but it's aquestion that I thought it's on
the mind of a lot of people,especially some of us as well
who came from university.
But, you know, we did thingsslightly differently, but we
don't.
We definitely, I definitely donot think that the average
(02:23):
university life prepares astudent, you know, for the
university of life.
If I may say Now, what do youthink that universities can
incorporate, especiallyUniversity of Ghana, where you
are the SRC president?
What can they do now to preparestudents For University of
Ghana.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Luckily, you know, our vice-chancellor is running
the One Student One Laptopinitiative, which is bringing
students closer to their digitalage.
So the whole idea behind theOne Student One Laptop
initiative is to providecomputer equipment laptops
mostly to students who do nothave them and those who cannot
(03:04):
afford them.
At the end, we are looking atstudents bettering their
research work, having the chanceto do more practical work and
also getting closer to some ofthe things they can explore
while they are students.
There are a lot ofopportunities out there, but
sometimes the excuses behind Ido not have computers, I cannot
(03:26):
do research hinder students fromexploring these things.
So, looking at some of thethings the vice chancellor is
doing, if it is incorporated inother universities it is going
to help, and similarly, atk-university they run this
course I don't know the name,but it has run through their
computer systems together withthe dean of student affairs,
(03:48):
where they train students ininterview skills, cv writing and
another thing that is relevantto the career world.
If other schools adopt this Imean to the university of ghana
and the other schools as well itis really going to help
students because realize thatwhen students step out of school
, they lack these basic skills.
(04:10):
When you sit them down forinterviews, some would feel
woefully.
It is extremely bad.
And when it comes to whatyou're supposed to give, to what
employees are looking out for,they do not have those things.
So on the side of k-n-o-s, thatis one thing they've adopted
which is really helping theirsystem.
So subsequently, if otherschools are supposed to or able
(04:31):
to incorporate that, it isreally going to help and if we
are able to create a lot ofopportunities for students.
When it comes to intentions andattachments, it is really good
because at the end it gives youa preview of how the future of
work is going to look like toyou, how you are going to cope
in a company when you're donewith school.
(04:52):
Some of these people or studentsdo not have experiences in any
of these things no attachments,no internships, no industrial
experience the moment they leaveschool and then they go to the
various companies andorganizations to go and do their
national service.
They really struggle becausethey do not have experiences in
any of these and it would shockyou that interpersonal relation
(05:13):
skills is very important when itcomes to the career world, but
students do not really learnthese kind of things because, I
mean, I had no internship, I hadno attachment, so where am I
going to learn these things from?
So it's like all these thingswhich are supposed to be learned
before coming out of school aresupposed to be linked.
When you are done with school,when you're doing your national
(05:35):
service or you've picked up ajob role, that is where you are
forced to learn these kind ofthings.
But when you look at some ofour schools in the western world
, these things are exposed tothem before they come out.
So they come out as holisticgraduates who are thriving in
all these areas.
So the few things we'vementioned if you're able to
incorporate that, it is going tobuild our students for success
(05:59):
like big time I agree.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
I agree.
I think you know when peoplecome out of university, um
around here they're a bit tootimid, right um, almost not
prepared for the world.
Yes, you know you've just spentabout four years maximum six
years at university, coming outto be, let's say, a doctor, or
(06:23):
you know you just did, did an HRcourse, whatever but this is
the time where you are cominginto the real world, where
you're going to spend a hugeamount of your life.
Yes, interact with people and Idefinitely think that you know
universities definitely can dobetter, but this is the reason
why I love conversation with youthe fact that, as a young
(06:44):
person, you saw opportunity inyoung leadership and you decided
to go to become the SRCpresident for the University of
Ghana for this year.
I think that's amazing.
It's marvelous.
Now I want us to go deep intoyour pursuit for this leadership
all right.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So I think I did a lot of things on my side.
I thought I was just building abrand and then doing what I
love doing being the spotlightand being able to influence a
group of people.
I created this information bankwhere I was feeding students
with academic posts andopportunities.
And you know, at the Universityof Ghana campus, there's one
(07:22):
thing students are reallyinterested in.
So the moment you're givingthem content like this, they are
going to stay glued towhichever screen you're
projecting that through.
And then the plan was not tobecome a university president
from the start.
What was the plan?
The plan was simply to beinfluential and for me to be
able to snap my fingers and thenI get people moving.
(07:43):
That was just the plan.
It just felt good that you aredoing something good for
students and at the end, you arebeing able to influence them
towards a particular direction.
So during that time I drew avery thick line between
leadership and occupying offices.
So there are a few times wherepeople would compare me and then
(08:04):
the things I was doing tocertain executives in various
offices src, junior common roomsand other ones, because the
kind of things I was doing forstudents, you would assume I was
campaigning for src presidentor I'm holding a very high
profiled position somewhere.
But you get close and yourealize that no, he's not in any
(08:25):
position.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Just a regular student.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Right.
So where is this forward from?
That was the conversation.
So it made me more popular andthen people started becoming
intrigued about the personalityBecause my releases were getting
increasingly relevant tostudents.
It was being shared across theplatforms we had on campus.
(08:50):
Yet I was not within any office.
And then that time the plan wasto not run first as a president
.
The plan to run first as apresident in some way came up
when I was at level 200.
The plan was actually to justlead and make impact for the
students to benefit from and insome way, somehow I was
(09:11):
convinced into running for SabahJSA president because they
thought I was capable and I wasgoing to do the work.
I had not really considered foran election before my whole
life.
It is mostly by appointment.
Yeah, they were like oh, youcan do the work, so just get
this position and then work onit.
It so I was not reallycomfortable with.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
People are coming to vote for you, right, yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
so when that happened , I was like no, I'm not going
for any position again.
Then that was when the slc ideadied.
So how do you then?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
eventually say that I'm gonna to put my name up and
this time I'm going to be votedon.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
So right after we were moved to Sabah, I didn't
stop doing what I was doing tohelp students, and that time I
had gone to Hope Popular.
My contacts had shot up fromaround 130 before to around
13,000 when I was moved to Kapon.
So that was like within thefirst semester.
And then campaign had started,first house election and people
(10:13):
were calling me out oh, come forthe position.
I was able to also create aTelegram channel.
That was where I was using todisseminate my information.
It was around 12,600subscribers on that channel.
So people felt you hadeverything when it comes to
social capital and thensupporters, so you should go in
(10:36):
for the position.
Now I was like, no, whathappened to Sabah still lingers
on my mind and then it reallypains me.
So there's no way I'm going togo in for another position.
Then, second semester, I movedto a new hall, ish, because I'm
so comfortable in um diaspora.
I was far from campus and thenI had a lot of rounds to be
(10:58):
making on come on main campus.
So I was like, well, let me getcloser to main campus.
So I moved to ish too.
Then, I think a week to theelections, conversations of
parents started.
So initially everyone wasrunning as a presidential
candidate, but you're supposedto get um irani mates as well.
(11:19):
So my name came up a few times.
And then people even came to meoh, I feel you're running for
South Sea president.
I'm disappointed.
Why didn't you tell me you knowwhat we are willing to do for
you.
I got a lot of texts in my gmoh go, you're willing to do this
, we're willing to do that foryou.
But I never paid attention tothat.
Then, on the last day of fouling, where they were closing
(11:41):
nominations for those who wereofficially coming to fall as a
pair I was in term at that timethen I received a call that um,
um, I've been told here pairingwith this person to run first,
I'll see vice president.
At that time and I was like oh,no one.
I've not entered into anyparent agreement with anybody.
(12:02):
Secondly, if I'm even enteringthe race, I'm not coming to run
as a vice president.
I don't want to run as aspresident.
That's right.
And that time I was so childishabout the whole thoughts so I
was even laughing when I wasspeaking to them.
Then around 4 pm they said Ishould come to campus.
There's an emergency meeting.
(12:22):
I should come.
I went to campus and then myvice president, who happened to
be my running mate in theelection, was in my hall and the
conversation was um, we aresupposed to pair because he has
not gotten a pair yet and theother options are available, but
he just wants to win theelection once and for all.
(12:43):
And I was like, hey, this is sosomewhere for me because I'm
not, I'm not ready, and then thenominations close today.
How am I supposed to take sucha decision without even telling
my parents about it?
And I'm just coming to enterinto such huge election as
university of ghana, suchelections.
Then around 6pm, I startedagreeing.
(13:05):
I was like, okay, I'm going torun, but not as a vice
presidential candidate.
Then his other management teamdid also not agree.
They wanted him to run forpresident while IB is running
late as vice president.
Then I was like no, so around7.40pm it was like 20 minutes
(13:27):
closing of the nominations.
My people also came around mymanager and there's other people
who have been mentoring me andall that.
So they came around and thenwe're trying to reach an
agreement that I have built somuch over the past three years
that I cannot just settle forvice president.
And the only mistake someonemay call it on my side is the
(13:52):
fact that I simply did not startcampaigning to people that I
was going for as a president,but I was doing the works of
someone who was an aspirant.
That was how I got the numbers,obviously, and that was how I
got popular.
Then, around 7 50 that was like10 minutes to the deadline when
I car driving to the uniondesert union building, where
(14:14):
you're supposed to go for, andthen he agreed to go for vice
president.
I was not even comfortable withthat decision.
I was like are you very, verysure of your decision?
It was like yes, it's a niceexpression.
I realized there was a lot ofdisappointments on his face.
But like, this is where we are.
I mean, in life you sacrificesometimes.
So we both appended oursignatures.
(14:36):
I was in a chelsea shirt, by theway and it became a trending
matter on campus that how can Iwin an election on campus?
I'm not serious.
I have a very poor brand.
Why am I wearing a chelseashirt to go in for nomination
for such office?
So people were closer to usrealized that this decision was
(14:57):
hasty.
It came just recently, so we'renot prepared to even wear suit
or captain or whatever to go infar and.
And then ha, so I was justwearing a Chelsea shirt, we
filed and then the work had tostart.
That was just two weeks beforeexam, so you can imagine the
time I was supposed to use tostudy.
Now I had to use this time tocampaign.
(15:18):
Now, the name was out there,but people had not met me.
Right name was out there butpeople had not met me, right, I
was so much interested in thistype of power where you would
influence people without theyhaving access to you.
So most of the times you neversee me on campus, even till now,
unless I want to make myselfavailable.
So you know, all these times Iwas so popular you only see my
(15:41):
flies and my pictures on fliesbut in-person interactions were
so difficult and I was so fondof wearing masks on campus.
Okay, yes, throughout thoseperiods, even sometimes in the
campaign, I was wearing mask.
I didn't want people to feelthey have like 100 access to you
or you are known.
(16:01):
When that happened, they getused to you, so the influence
decreases.
But when it's when it stillfeels fresh and the personality
still hangs at the top and it'ssome something people are still
trying to reach out to, you geta chance to get this um, I don't
know influence on them yeahthat was, that was just plan, so
(16:24):
that was how we found they hadto work towards the election
itself, and then we came up witha very historic percentage.
Was it 65%?
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Four different pairs and that is the highest number
of votes ever collated at theUniversity of Ghana 10,000, plus
votes for a pay.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
I'm sure there are aspirants and their question is
how exactly did you win theelection?
Hard work.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Like extreme hard work, because the morning before
I filed, a lot of people wereposting when they started that
come and contest.
And people will not just callyou out to come and contest if
you've not done something forthem or if you're not known for
something.
Now, when the election wasongoing, um, we're voting via a
(17:22):
portal.
It was online.
Online, it would get to a parttimes within the day.
The vote margin would increasefrom 1,000 to 2,000, like within
a few minutes.
Then my very residents would bescared.
They'd be like hey, are theytouching the system?
And I'm like no, I knew what Iwas doing.
So the Telegram channel I wastelling you about had about
(17:45):
13,000 subscribers.
So momentarily During theelection period, I will post
there that Please, if you havenot voted, kindly go vote.
The moment I post that, thevote margin increases by a very
wide range.
Okay, right, so I saw that itis basically what I had done for
these 13 sets of people.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
That is making them vote for you.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Exactly, they are paying you back.
Basically, that was the wholething and those numbers that we
got on the Telegram channel.
They all got there because theyconsumed some of the
information we shared across tothem, or they explored some of
the opportunities I shared withthem that is the only way you
would find yourself on thatspeech or they explored some of
the opportunities I shared withthem.
That is the only way you wouldfind yourself on that speech.
So, some way, somehow, allthose 13 people there had been
(18:29):
impacted by some of the things Ihad done on campus.
So it was basically consistenthard work, because it started
from level 100.
The second I was in level 100,then 22, then 23.
Oh no, that was 2021, 2023.
So all the works we had haddone for that few years and the
(18:50):
one that my vice president hadalso complimented with yeah,
just give us that.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
You know, frank um, leadership is highly tied into
service and how you're speaking,I could tell.
Because you served the peopleso much, they felt that they
needed to put you in a placewhere you can provide even more
service to them.
Now, how do you define success?
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yes, so that is marking out the things you want
to do for me.
I relate that to my notes padall the time.
Okay, if you take my notes part, like I have long-term goals
written in it, by the end ofthis month I should have been
able to mark or take this oneout.
(19:35):
Then I have weekly based onesand then I have ones for daily
basis.
So the moment I do somethingthere, I take it and then that
is success for me.
The moment it is done, themoment I know I have crossed it
out, that is success.
So I just outline these plans inmy notes part and then, the
moment I don't do it, I don'tfeel okay.
(19:56):
So I wake up like 4 am and I'mlike, no, let me work on this If
I don't feel okay.
So I wake up like four and I'mlike, no, let me work on this,
if I don't work on this, I can'twork on another plan.
So that is how it simply works.
And then I end up.
So if you take my notes butthen you go to realize I
cancelled almost every page,like that is what I had to do to
make sure I'm getting as far aseverything I'm doing yeah,
while you were saying that, Iwas I was almost getting a bit
(20:18):
teary, because that's exactlyhow I do.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I have a to-do list, okay, and once I take off, I'm
like, yeah, thank god, I've donethat, yes, I've done that, yes,
and that can get you going.
Before you know it, you'redoing those small, you know,
like a little drop of watermakes a mighty ocean right, and
it comes with this fulfillmentlike yeah if you're so happy.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Everything is on point.
Yeah, everything is gettingdone.
Yeah, when other people arewatching, they might not feel
you are being successful at whatyou are doing, but within you
you know this is what I amsupposed to do.
This is what I want to achieveat this point in time.
If I have done it, that is whatthat matters, not how other
people are seeing it.
So really.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
The truth is that you can never measure your level of
success against someone.
You can't let someone be thebenchmark.
Right, you can never do that.
Yeah, you can never do that.
I want to take you back a bit.
When you were speaking earlieron, you spoke about being
bullied a lot when you wereyounger.
What was happening at that time?
Speaker 2 (21:19):
I started being bullied in nursery school.
I think I was too small All ofus, I was extremely small.
I remember my parents weretelling me that they had to let
me stay in class one for threegood years like three times Just
for me to grow in height beforethey will push me to the next
(21:42):
level, because I was so small.
And they just admitted that, oh,he's smart and everything, but
you're too small to move on tothe next level so during those
times, you know, we had peoplewere taller in the class and
then I was the tiniest in theclass yet the smartest, if I
would say so.
(22:02):
It came with this friction, youknow, when we were children.
These things happen sometimesand because I was smarter, I
think in primary one most of thegirls wanted to be around me,
and then the boys were not toohappy about that, so constantly
they would pick on me and Makefun of you, yes, and even beat
(22:22):
me sometimes.
Wow yeah, it was literally likea joke until class six.
I think that was when I had oneof the extreme levels of being
bullied.
So I think something happened.
I was on a mags register inclass six.
I was a class perfect and I wasa school perfect as well.
Then it said I did not come forclass or something, so
(22:45):
obviously I did not mark them aspresent.
And then they got pissed.
So when we closed from schoolthat time they actually attacked
me and gave me the beatings ofa lifetime.
Then I reported this issue tothe school authorities and they
were supposed to read an apologyletter to me at assembly.
(23:06):
They read the letter and I waslike I'm not happy with the
content of the letter.
As young as I was that time, Icould tell when someone had
regretted their actions or not.
So I just told them you're, youdon't, you're not showing
remorse for what you did, sodropped a new letter.
Can you imagine?
(23:27):
On that same day I was beatenagain, like by these same boys
wow, yes, by these same boys anda lot of things boys were doing
that I was not so much involvedin.
I found them as having toxictraits.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Right.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Like beating people up to prove a point.
You know toxic masculinity.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Doing things to prove that you are a man.
I was not fond of those things,so I was categorized as a
flexible masculine which comeswith name calling and then being
, I don't know, sidelined rightin a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I understand exactly what you mean, yeah, yeah, you
know, I was very small as well,okay, but I had a strategy.
I was small but I was fast andI was very troublesome, but what
I did was, in my class, thetallest and the strongest of
(24:26):
boys were my friends.
Okay, I made friends with them.
In fact, there were two tallguys they were, so they were
taller than almost anybody inthe school.
They were my friends so it washard for me to.
They were my friends, so it washard for me to get myself into
those kind of trouble.
(24:46):
Um, sometimes I caused some ofthem through them, you know.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
But say no to bullying man, say no to bullying
I guess for me times I wasnever able to speak to my
parents about it.
Wow, it was most of the time mymother was traveling, so I
spent most of of my childhooddays with my dad and my dad.
The relationship we had waspurely make the greets, let me
award you.
It was like my dad was anelector but he was not.
(25:11):
But that was the kind ofrelationship we had.
Go make the A's, let me rewardyou.
We never had that personalinteraction so I never spoke to
anybody about these things.
And if you are a child and thesethings are happening to you, if
you don't take care, you builda lot of bitterness and pain
within you.
That's something I realizedwhen I got to senior high school
.
I realized I had built a lot ofbitter experience and pain
(25:35):
because I never got to speak toanybody about it Not being
friends, not family, family, nota counselor and then things
were happening that was reallygetting to me, but I never
expressed these things toanybody wow, I I really
encourage that people shouldtalk.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
You know they should find someone and speak to them.
Um, you know advice for someonewho's thinking of you know,
taking over your position.
You know what advice would yougive to them?
Speaker 2 (26:08):
If you want to work, politics should never be part of
the conversation.
If you really want to serve theinterests of the students now,
you are supposed to guard youremotional intelligence too.
Else, when you step into theseshoes, you would even want to
resign the next day because thepressure is a lot like.
(26:30):
It's a lot of pressureattending meetings, balancing
social life, academic work andall of that.
And if you don't take care, ifyou are someone who is fond of
instant gratification, where youalways want to please or enjoy
the sense of fulfillment fromcurrent happenings, you end up
(26:50):
making a lot of mistakes.
So if you're ever aspiring tobe a president or take up other
leadership roles, critics willcome.
Political talks, interest andopportunities would also come
your way.
But at every point in timeyou're supposed to leverage on
the reason why you came, whatyou actually want to do for
(27:11):
students, else your impact willnever be felt.
And then you think you'rehelping the students out, but
the moment you fall off and thenyou look at yourself in the
mirror and then what you've doneso far, you realize that no,
someone actually ran theadministration using you, which
is mostly no good.
Another thing is the moment youget closer to building that
(27:35):
power.
Everyone becomes a friend.
Everyone becomes an enemy.
Everyone will try to be in yourgood books and elsewhere.
When you are not there, theywould settle on bad terms
against you with other people.
Wow, yes, people who are everwilling to aspire for this
(27:58):
position should know that theseare really good words, that
these are really good words.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
These are really good words.
I'm even inspired, you know.
These are really good words.
Um, we've just been speaking tofrank um chikata, who is the
current src president, uh, forthe university of ghana.
Now, I believe in youngleadership, youth leadership,
because that's where we startbuilding ourselves from, we
(28:24):
build our network, we build ourconfidence.
Courage you know all thesethings that we need for life and
I definitely think, becauseyou've been bold enough to take
on this challenge, you've got abright future ahead of you, man.
So, thank you guys forlistening and you know, yeah,
(28:53):
stay connected.
Do you believe the university is preparing students
for success in life?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Number one business and self-development podcast.
Connected Minds podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of gap in between how
what a school looks like andthen what you're actually seeing
within the school that you'rein.
Now, if you're in theuniversity, you think things are
easier the moment you're donewith school, but the moment
you're getting closer tofinishing school, that is where
your reality starts hitting you.
(00:36):
If you get a chance to enterinto the career world, like
doing internships andattachments when you're in
school, it takes you closer towhat the real world looks like
when it comes to life afterschool.
So people who have had thatexperience before tend to add
more value to themselves beforethey leave school.
(00:58):
In a case where the universityis not making any deliberate
attempts to make some of thesethings easily accessible to
students, it becomes a challenge, do I mean?
People are lacking their softskills, communication wise,
using computers in this digitalage and even how to navigate
your way around being a graduateof the university.
(01:20):
All these things are not beingtaken care of.
People are not getting thechance to explore other
alternatives, like practical umside of the theory, things we do
in school, and when it comes tothe field entrepreneurship too,
there is least support when youlook at the kind of system
you're running here within thecountry.
So at the end, when studentscome out of school, we realize
(01:42):
they're really strugglingbecause they do not have any
other thing to do.
Aside the mundane way ofreading books in school and then
sitting for an exam, there'snothing else to show for it,
aside the few ones who were ableto do something impactful and
then added value to themselveswhen they were in school.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I've just started this conversation and just gone
in straight to my favoritequestion, right, I've just
started this conversation andjust gone in straight to my
favorite question, right, Ishould have really taken it slow
and build it up, but it's aquestion that I thought it's on
the mind of a lot of people,especially some of us as well
who came from university.
But, you know, we did thingsslightly differently, but we
don't.
We definitely, I definitely donot think that the average
(02:23):
university life prepares astudent, you know, for the
university of life.
If I may say Now, what do youthink that universities can
incorporate, especiallyUniversity of Ghana, where you
are the SRC president?
What can they do now to preparestudents For University of
Ghana.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Luckily, you know, our vice-chancellor is running
the One Student One Laptopinitiative, which is bringing
students closer to their digitalage.
So the whole idea behind theOne Student One Laptop
initiative is to providecomputer equipment laptops
mostly to students who do nothave them and those who cannot
(03:04):
afford them.
At the end, we are looking atstudents bettering their
research work, having the chanceto do more practical work and
also getting closer to some ofthe things they can explore
while they are students.
There are a lot ofopportunities out there, but
sometimes the excuses behind Ido not have computers, I cannot
(03:26):
do research hinder students fromexploring these things.
So, looking at some of thethings the vice chancellor is
doing, if it is incorporated inother universities it is going
to help, and similarly, atk-university they run this
course I don't know the name,but it has run through their
computer systems together withthe dean of student affairs,
(03:48):
where they train students ininterview skills, cv writing and
another thing that is relevantto the career world.
If other schools adopt this Imean to the university of ghana
and the other schools as well itis really going to help
students because realize thatwhen students step out of school
, they lack these basic skills.
(04:10):
When you sit them down forinterviews, some would feel
woefully.
It is extremely bad.
And when it comes to whatyou're supposed to give, to what
employees are looking out for,they do not have those things.
So on the side of k-n-o-s, thatis one thing they've adopted
which is really helping theirsystem.
So subsequently, if otherschools are supposed to or able
(04:31):
to incorporate that, it isreally going to help and if we
are able to create a lot ofopportunities for students.
When it comes to intentions andattachments, it is really good
because at the end it gives youa preview of how the future of
work is going to look like toyou, how you are going to cope
in a company when you're donewith school.
(04:52):
Some of these people or studentsdo not have experiences in any
of these things no attachments,no internships, no industrial
experience the moment they leaveschool and then they go to the
various companies andorganizations to go and do their
national service.
They really struggle becausethey do not have experiences in
any of these and it would shockyou that interpersonal relation
(05:13):
skills is very important when itcomes to the career world, but
students do not really learnthese kind of things because, I
mean, I had no internship, I hadno attachment, so where am I
going to learn these things from?
So it's like all these thingswhich are supposed to be learned
before coming out of school aresupposed to be linked.
When you are done with school,when you're doing your national
(05:35):
service or you've picked up ajob role, that is where you are
forced to learn these kind ofthings.
But when you look at some ofour schools in the western world
, these things are exposed tothem before they come out.
So they come out as holisticgraduates who are thriving in
all these areas.
So the few things we'vementioned if you're able to
incorporate that, it is going tobuild our students for success
(05:59):
like big time I agree.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
I agree.
I think you know when peoplecome out of university, um
around here they're a bit tootimid, right um, almost not
prepared for the world.
Yes, you know you've just spentabout four years maximum six
years at university, coming outto be, let's say, a doctor, or
(06:23):
you know you just did, did an HRcourse, whatever but this is
the time where you are cominginto the real world, where
you're going to spend a hugeamount of your life.
Yes, interact with people and Idefinitely think that you know
universities definitely can dobetter, but this is the reason
why I love conversation with youthe fact that, as a young
(06:44):
person, you saw opportunity inyoung leadership and you decided
to go to become the SRCpresident for the University of
Ghana for this year.
I think that's amazing.
It's marvelous.
Now I want us to go deep intoyour pursuit for this leadership
all right.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So I think I did a lot of things on my side.
I thought I was just building abrand and then doing what I
love doing being the spotlightand being able to influence a
group of people.
I created this information bankwhere I was feeding students
with academic posts andopportunities.
And you know, at the Universityof Ghana campus, there's one
(07:22):
thing students are reallyinterested in.
So the moment you're givingthem content like this, they are
going to stay glued towhichever screen you're
projecting that through.
And then the plan was not tobecome a university president
from the start.
What was the plan?
The plan was simply to beinfluential and for me to be
able to snap my fingers and thenI get people moving.
(07:43):
That was just the plan.
It just felt good that you aredoing something good for
students and at the end, you arebeing able to influence them
towards a particular direction.
So during that time I drew avery thick line between
leadership and occupying offices.
So there are a few times wherepeople would compare me and then
(08:04):
the things I was doing tocertain executives in various
offices src, junior common roomsand other ones, because the
kind of things I was doing forstudents, you would assume I was
campaigning for src presidentor I'm holding a very high
profiled position somewhere.
But you get close and yourealize that no, he's not in any
(08:25):
position.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Just a regular student.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Right.
So where is this forward from?
That was the conversation.
So it made me more popular andthen people started becoming
intrigued about the personalityBecause my releases were getting
increasingly relevant tostudents.
It was being shared across theplatforms we had on campus.
(08:50):
Yet I was not within any office.
And then that time the plan wasto not run first as a president
.
The plan to run first as apresident in some way came up
when I was at level 200.
The plan was actually to justlead and make impact for the
students to benefit from and insome way, somehow I was
(09:11):
convinced into running for SabahJSA president because they
thought I was capable and I wasgoing to do the work.
I had not really considered foran election before my whole
life.
It is mostly by appointment.
Yeah, they were like oh, youcan do the work, so just get
this position and then work onit.
It so I was not reallycomfortable with.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
People are coming to vote for you, right, yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
so when that happened , I was like no, I'm not going
for any position again.
Then that was when the slc ideadied.
So how do you then?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
eventually say that I'm gonna to put my name up and
this time I'm going to be votedon.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
So right after we were moved to Sabah, I didn't
stop doing what I was doing tohelp students, and that time I
had gone to Hope Popular.
My contacts had shot up fromaround 130 before to around
13,000 when I was moved to Kapon.
So that was like within thefirst semester.
And then campaign had started,first house election and people
(10:13):
were calling me out oh, come forthe position.
I was able to also create aTelegram channel.
That was where I was using todisseminate my information.
It was around 12,600subscribers on that channel.
So people felt you hadeverything when it comes to
social capital and thensupporters, so you should go in
(10:36):
for the position.
Now I was like, no, whathappened to Sabah still lingers
on my mind and then it reallypains me.
So there's no way I'm going togo in for another position.
Then, second semester, I movedto a new hall, ish, because I'm
so comfortable in um diaspora.
I was far from campus and thenI had a lot of rounds to be
(10:58):
making on come on main campus.
So I was like, well, let me getcloser to main campus.
So I moved to ish too.
Then, I think a week to theelections, conversations of
parents started.
So initially everyone wasrunning as a presidential
candidate, but you're supposedto get um irani mates as well.
(11:19):
So my name came up a few times.
And then people even came to meoh, I feel you're running for
South Sea president.
I'm disappointed.
Why didn't you tell me you knowwhat we are willing to do for
you.
I got a lot of texts in my gmoh go, you're willing to do this
, we're willing to do that foryou.
But I never paid attention tothat.
Then, on the last day of fouling, where they were closing
(11:41):
nominations for those who wereofficially coming to fall as a
pair I was in term at that timethen I received a call that um,
um, I've been told here pairingwith this person to run first,
I'll see vice president.
At that time and I was like oh,no one.
I've not entered into anyparent agreement with anybody.
(12:02):
Secondly, if I'm even enteringthe race, I'm not coming to run
as a vice president.
I don't want to run as aspresident.
That's right.
And that time I was so childishabout the whole thoughts so I
was even laughing when I wasspeaking to them.
Then around 4 pm they said Ishould come to campus.
There's an emergency meeting.
(12:22):
I should come.
I went to campus and then myvice president, who happened to
be my running mate in theelection, was in my hall and the
conversation was um, we aresupposed to pair because he has
not gotten a pair yet and theother options are available, but
he just wants to win theelection once and for all.
(12:43):
And I was like, hey, this is sosomewhere for me because I'm
not, I'm not ready, and then thenominations close today.
How am I supposed to take sucha decision without even telling
my parents about it?
And I'm just coming to enterinto such huge election as
university of ghana, suchelections.
Then around 6pm, I startedagreeing.
(13:05):
I was like, okay, I'm going torun, but not as a vice
presidential candidate.
Then his other management teamdid also not agree.
They wanted him to run forpresident while IB is running
late as vice president.
Then I was like no, so around7.40pm it was like 20 minutes
(13:27):
closing of the nominations.
My people also came around mymanager and there's other people
who have been mentoring me andall that.
So they came around and thenwe're trying to reach an
agreement that I have built somuch over the past three years
that I cannot just settle forvice president.
And the only mistake someonemay call it on my side is the
(13:52):
fact that I simply did not startcampaigning to people that I
was going for as a president,but I was doing the works of
someone who was an aspirant.
That was how I got the numbers,obviously, and that was how I
got popular.
Then, around 7 50 that was like10 minutes to the deadline when
I car driving to the uniondesert union building, where
(14:14):
you're supposed to go for, andthen he agreed to go for vice
president.
I was not even comfortable withthat decision.
I was like are you very, verysure of your decision?
It was like yes, it's a niceexpression.
I realized there was a lot ofdisappointments on his face.
But like, this is where we are.
I mean, in life you sacrificesometimes.
So we both appended oursignatures.
(14:36):
I was in a chelsea shirt, by theway and it became a trending
matter on campus that how can Iwin an election on campus?
I'm not serious.
I have a very poor brand.
Why am I wearing a chelseashirt to go in for nomination
for such office?
So people were closer to usrealized that this decision was
(14:57):
hasty.
It came just recently, so we'renot prepared to even wear suit
or captain or whatever to go infar and.
And then ha, so I was justwearing a Chelsea shirt, we
filed and then the work had tostart.
That was just two weeks beforeexam, so you can imagine the
time I was supposed to use tostudy.
Now I had to use this time tocampaign.
(15:18):
Now, the name was out there,but people had not met me.
Right name was out there butpeople had not met me, right, I
was so much interested in thistype of power where you would
influence people without theyhaving access to you.
So most of the times you neversee me on campus, even till now,
unless I want to make myselfavailable.
So you know, all these times Iwas so popular you only see my
(15:41):
flies and my pictures on fliesbut in-person interactions were
so difficult and I was so fondof wearing masks on campus.
Okay, yes, throughout thoseperiods, even sometimes in the
campaign, I was wearing mask.
I didn't want people to feelthey have like 100 access to you
or you are known.
(16:01):
When that happened, they getused to you, so the influence
decreases.
But when it's when it stillfeels fresh and the personality
still hangs at the top and it'ssome something people are still
trying to reach out to, you geta chance to get this um, I don't
know influence on them yeahthat was, that was just plan, so
(16:24):
that was how we found they hadto work towards the election
itself, and then we came up witha very historic percentage.
Was it 65%?
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Four different pairs and that is the highest number
of votes ever collated at theUniversity of Ghana 10,000, plus
votes for a pay.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
I'm sure there are aspirants and their question is
how exactly did you win theelection?
Hard work.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Like extreme hard work, because the morning before
I filed, a lot of people wereposting when they started that
come and contest.
And people will not just callyou out to come and contest if
you've not done something forthem or if you're not known for
something.
Now, when the election wasongoing, um, we're voting via a
(17:22):
portal.
It was online.
Online, it would get to a parttimes within the day.
The vote margin would increasefrom 1,000 to 2,000, like within
a few minutes.
Then my very residents would bescared.
They'd be like hey, are theytouching the system?
And I'm like no, I knew what Iwas doing.
So the Telegram channel I wastelling you about had about
(17:45):
13,000 subscribers.
So momentarily During theelection period, I will post
there that Please, if you havenot voted, kindly go vote.
The moment I post that, thevote margin increases by a very
wide range.
Okay, right, so I saw that itis basically what I had done for
these 13 sets of people.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
That is making them vote for you.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Exactly, they are paying you back.
Basically, that was the wholething and those numbers that we
got on the Telegram channel.
They all got there because theyconsumed some of the
information we shared across tothem, or they explored some of
the opportunities I shared withthem that is the only way you
would find yourself on thatspeech or they explored some of
the opportunities I shared withthem.
That is the only way you wouldfind yourself on that speech.
So, some way, somehow, allthose 13 people there had been
(18:29):
impacted by some of the things Ihad done on campus.
So it was basically consistenthard work, because it started
from level 100.
The second I was in level 100,then 22, then 23.
Oh no, that was 2021, 2023.
So all the works we had haddone for that few years and the
(18:50):
one that my vice president hadalso complimented with yeah,
just give us that.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
You know, frank um, leadership is highly tied into
service and how you're speaking,I could tell.
Because you served the peopleso much, they felt that they
needed to put you in a placewhere you can provide even more
service to them.
Now, how do you define success?
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yes, so that is marking out the things you want
to do for me.
I relate that to my notes padall the time.
Okay, if you take my notes part, like I have long-term goals
written in it, by the end ofthis month I should have been
able to mark or take this oneout.
(19:35):
Then I have weekly based onesand then I have ones for daily
basis.
So the moment I do somethingthere, I take it and then that
is success for me.
The moment it is done, themoment I know I have crossed it
out, that is success.
So I just outline these plans inmy notes part and then, the
moment I don't do it, I don'tfeel okay.
(19:56):
So I wake up like 4 am and I'mlike, no, let me work on this If
I don't feel okay.
So I wake up like four and I'mlike, no, let me work on this,
if I don't work on this, I can'twork on another plan.
So that is how it simply works.
And then I end up.
So if you take my notes butthen you go to realize I
cancelled almost every page,like that is what I had to do to
make sure I'm getting as far aseverything I'm doing yeah,
while you were saying that, Iwas I was almost getting a bit
(20:18):
teary, because that's exactlyhow I do.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I have a to-do list, okay, and once I take off, I'm
like, yeah, thank god, I've donethat, yes, I've done that, yes,
and that can get you going.
Before you know it, you'redoing those small, you know,
like a little drop of watermakes a mighty ocean right, and
it comes with this fulfillmentlike yeah if you're so happy.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Everything is on point.
Yeah, everything is gettingdone.
Yeah, when other people arewatching, they might not feel
you are being successful at whatyou are doing, but within you
you know this is what I amsupposed to do.
This is what I want to achieveat this point in time.
If I have done it, that is whatthat matters, not how other
people are seeing it.
So really.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
The truth is that you can never measure your level of
success against someone.
You can't let someone be thebenchmark.
Right, you can never do that.
Yeah, you can never do that.
I want to take you back a bit.
When you were speaking earlieron, you spoke about being
bullied a lot when you wereyounger.
What was happening at that time?
Speaker 2 (21:19):
I started being bullied in nursery school.
I think I was too small All ofus, I was extremely small.
I remember my parents weretelling me that they had to let
me stay in class one for threegood years like three times Just
for me to grow in height beforethey will push me to the next
(21:42):
level, because I was so small.
And they just admitted that, oh,he's smart and everything, but
you're too small to move on tothe next level so during those
times, you know, we had peoplewere taller in the class and
then I was the tiniest in theclass yet the smartest, if I
would say so.
(22:02):
It came with this friction, youknow, when we were children.
These things happen sometimesand because I was smarter, I
think in primary one most of thegirls wanted to be around me,
and then the boys were not toohappy about that, so constantly
they would pick on me and Makefun of you, yes, and even beat
(22:22):
me sometimes.
Wow yeah, it was literally likea joke until class six.
I think that was when I had oneof the extreme levels of being
bullied.
So I think something happened.
I was on a mags register inclass six.
I was a class perfect and I wasa school perfect as well.
Then it said I did not come forclass or something, so
(22:45):
obviously I did not mark them aspresent.
And then they got pissed.
So when we closed from schoolthat time they actually attacked
me and gave me the beatings ofa lifetime.
Then I reported this issue tothe school authorities and they
were supposed to read an apologyletter to me at assembly.
(23:06):
They read the letter and I waslike I'm not happy with the
content of the letter.
As young as I was that time, Icould tell when someone had
regretted their actions or not.
So I just told them you're, youdon't, you're not showing
remorse for what you did, sodropped a new letter.
Can you imagine?
(23:27):
On that same day I was beatenagain, like by these same boys
wow, yes, by these same boys anda lot of things boys were doing
that I was not so much involvedin.
I found them as having toxictraits.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Right.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Like beating people up to prove a point.
You know toxic masculinity.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Doing things to prove that you are a man.
I was not fond of those things,so I was categorized as a
flexible masculine which comeswith name calling and then being
, I don't know, sidelined rightin a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I understand exactly what you mean, yeah, yeah, you
know, I was very small as well,okay, but I had a strategy.
I was small but I was fast andI was very troublesome, but what
I did was, in my class, thetallest and the strongest of
(24:26):
boys were my friends.
Okay, I made friends with them.
In fact, there were two tallguys they were, so they were
taller than almost anybody inthe school.
They were my friends so it washard for me to.
They were my friends, so it washard for me to get myself into
those kind of trouble.
(24:46):
Um, sometimes I caused some ofthem through them, you know.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
But say no to bullying man, say no to bullying
I guess for me times I wasnever able to speak to my
parents about it.
Wow, it was most of the time mymother was traveling, so I
spent most of of my childhooddays with my dad and my dad.
The relationship we had waspurely make the greets, let me
award you.
It was like my dad was anelector but he was not.
(25:11):
But that was the kind ofrelationship we had.
Go make the A's, let me rewardyou.
We never had that personalinteraction so I never spoke to
anybody about these things.
And if you are a child and thesethings are happening to you, if
you don't take care, you builda lot of bitterness and pain
within you.
That's something I realizedwhen I got to senior high school
.
I realized I had built a lot ofbitter experience and pain
(25:35):
because I never got to speak toanybody about it Not being
friends, not family, family, nota counselor and then things
were happening that was reallygetting to me, but I never
expressed these things toanybody wow, I I really
encourage that people shouldtalk.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
You know they should find someone and speak to them.
Um, you know advice for someonewho's thinking of you know,
taking over your position.
You know what advice would yougive to them?
Speaker 2 (26:08):
If you want to work, politics should never be part of
the conversation.
If you really want to serve theinterests of the students now,
you are supposed to guard youremotional intelligence too.
Else, when you step into theseshoes, you would even want to
resign the next day because thepressure is a lot like.
(26:30):
It's a lot of pressureattending meetings, balancing
social life, academic work andall of that.
And if you don't take care, ifyou are someone who is fond of
instant gratification, where youalways want to please or enjoy
the sense of fulfillment fromcurrent happenings, you end up
(26:50):
making a lot of mistakes.
So if you're ever aspiring tobe a president or take up other
leadership roles, critics willcome.
Political talks, interest andopportunities would also come
your way.
But at every point in timeyou're supposed to leverage on
the reason why you came, whatyou actually want to do for
(27:11):
students, else your impact willnever be felt.
And then you think you'rehelping the students out, but
the moment you fall off and thenyou look at yourself in the
mirror and then what you've doneso far, you realize that no,
someone actually ran theadministration using you, which
is mostly no good.
Another thing is the moment youget closer to building that
(27:35):
power.
Everyone becomes a friend.
Everyone becomes an enemy.
Everyone will try to be in yourgood books and elsewhere.
When you are not there, theywould settle on bad terms
against you with other people.
Wow, yes, people who are everwilling to aspire for this
(27:58):
position should know that theseare really good words, that
these are really good words.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
These are really good words.
I'm even inspired, you know.
These are really good words.
Um, we've just been speaking tofrank um chikata, who is the
current src president, uh, forthe university of ghana.
Now, I believe in youngleadership, youth leadership,
because that's where we startbuilding ourselves from, we
(28:24):
build our network, we build ourconfidence.
Courage you know all thesethings that we need for life and
I definitely think, becauseyou've been bold enough to take
on this challenge, you've got abright future ahead of you, man.
So, thank you guys forlistening and you know, yeah,
(28:53):
stay connected.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.