The fifth son of multi-talented and creative man of God Apostle Kwadwo Safo, also known as African Star, business mogul Kwadwo Safo Jnr has revealed his ambition to become the president of Ghana one day.
He made this revelation on Adom 106.3 FM’s entertainment review programme ‘Adom Entertainment Hall’ hosted by Kojo Preko Dankwa.
In a refreshingly candid interview, Kwadwo Safo Jnr professed his love for business and a determination to carefully think through problems and act decisively to solve them.
The young businessman, became a commercial pilot at the tender age of 19 and runs most of his father’s many businesses, also revealed his love for Ghanaian music. He also dismissed the claim that he and his family were inward looking and anti-social.
He however refused to discuss his recent break up with actress Juliet Ibrahim.
Read part I of the full text as presented by “Kojo Preko and friends; Bandex and DJ Amess.”
Kojo Preko (KP): Kwadwo Sarfo Jnr you are welcome and is everything cool?
Kwadwo Sarfo Jnr (KSJ):…and you?
KP: By his Grace we are fine…..I like your dress. Why do you like this type of dress…a long casual attire…..are you a Muslim?
KSJ: No I am not a Muslim but I feel easy and comfortable whenever I am in such dresses, free ventilation and enter every parts of the body including what you are thinking.
KP: Listeners the dress I am talking about is this type…….how is it call?
KSJ: They call it Jamalia or Caftan
KP: That is what he prefers…..do you wear suits?
KSJ: I own a lot of suits and braces….I like the African wear and I prefer them to the suits and what have you.
KP: You believe in African wear? Why you don’t want to barber or trim your hair and your beard?
KSJ: Yes I like African wear. I admire and like bushy hair because it befits my facial expression whiles the bearded face is what kills me (amidst prolong laughter among the panel and the host). It adds to my handsomeness and people admire it and added to my face value and as he put it “it makes the market value very high”.
Who Is Kwadwo Safo Jnr?
KSJ:Kwadwo Safo Jnr is an Ashanti born from Essumangya and a pilot, a businessman in charge of Kantaka Group of Companies which owned farms, quarry, hospitals, schools, transports, soon to be operated television station, Kantaka assembly plant and many others…..
KP: (…interruption we shall come to all that….), we know you are a pilot whose plane do you pilot?
KSJ: When we at (Kantaka) conceived the idea and research into these technologies we took into consideration the aviation aspect so I decided to pursue that agenda in line with Papa’s (his dad) vision and “my intention was not to go into this expensive venture to fly someone else’s plane but to help develop our own technology and research into what to do at Kantanka’s research site” he revealed at the interview.
KP: So it was your father’s vision you decided follow and at what stage did it occur to you that you will pursue Papa’s ideas and vision or is it was your father who imbibed that spirit in you or again it was your own idea to break into such complex technology-driven industrialization in other to pursue it?
KSJ: Both! This is because our training and upbringings tells you what the Oldman is aiming at and more so at a certain age in one’s life you got to know where you have gotten to you should separate bad from good so if you evaluate the options it is obvious for you to know what to do. Looking back I think I made the right choice because it has helped me tremendously.
KP: Tell me how life was when you were young….like how was it?
KSJ: It was fun…it was really fun. I mean…….
KP :(….interruption) I was told you were stubborn, insolent, too inquisitive but creative?
KSJ: Oooh! I was, because as young men growing up if you don’t go through such heart-breaking experiences like stubbornness or insolence it means something was wrong with you. It really helps me a lot, even though I made a lot of mistakes which I learnt a lot but it helped me to overcome my stubbornness and adversaries. It has helped me to develop the skills to advice anybody found in such situation because there is nothing that person is doing I haven’t experience before.
KP: Where did you school?
KSJ: (he hesitated…), we were taught at home….
KP: That is unique, was it Papa’s policy for you people to be taught at home?
KSJ: That was the reason why I became commercial pilot at the age of 19…! When I had my pilot license and completed everything to become a commercial pilot I was then 19 years. This is because the kind of training or our upbringings (by this I am not implying that others didn’t go through such training), was unique but comparing us with some of our colleagues at school especially what I in particular went through you can see that the differences are clear and big.
There are a lot of things some of our colleagues indulged in but we were not allowed to do those things until we entered the University before we socialize and made friends but since childhood we were not allowed to get involved until our High schools we were taught at home even though I had the benefit of enrolling at the ST. Andrews JHS like you said before I was stubborn and truancy until I went to further my education at London before pursuing my piloting training at Florida at Daytona Beach Phoenix Eastaviation.
KP: Then Papa might have spent a lot on you…..
KSJ: Eiii! The training alone cost him us about $100,000 then…comparing it to the current exchange rate you will know what I am driving at.
KP: It is alleged that because you people were taught at home, you were not able to bond or socialize with other children. Do you have friends?
KSJ: I t wasn’t true. We have friends; we bond very very fine, so if somebody tells you we don’t bond is never true. My sister is in parliament and she is doing very well. She has bonded well with her colleagues in parliament, we bond very well just that we are not easily influence by our peers or bad company or pressure. We have a tight skin and don’t bow to pressure just like that.
KP: What really run through the family, the kids? Is there one particular thing that runs through you that show reminiscent from Papa that runs through the family which you have not changed from?
KSJ: Detemination! Determination and very hard heart. We’re very strong minded, all of us. It is not easy to convince any of us to do something cynical or untoward, unless you pull the old man from the roof top of the storey to achieve your target. This is what has bonded us.
KP: So you all do things together as a one big family?
KSJ: we are all grownups and working but we meet on Sabbath days to attend church after which we meet and discuss issues and socialize. Other times too we organize a family reunion with a well organized party. (….interruption by Kojo Preko; I was at your younger sister’s party, the one at Central University it wasn’t easy, you were seen dancing all over you like dancing?), eiii…it is Kantaka who has organized such a huge party what else do you expect? In our family we like dancing, I am even the least.
-adomnews