The maverick MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, says his life satisfaction comes from being able to fight for the vulnerable.
Speaking to Kojo Mensah on Sunday Night on Asaase Radio, the governing New Patriotic Party lawmaker said he does not believe in wealth.
“I believe in working hard for money and everything but I don’t cherish it. So long as I am able to give satisfaction to a Ghanaian, I am satisfied,” he said.
“People will say,” he continued, “‘You have money: why would you worry yourself?’
“Money is not all.
“If you read [about] the French Revolution and the causes of the French Revolution, you will see that if you make the money at the expense of the ordinary people for so long and they are not happy, a day will come that they will revolt against you. They will kill you, your children, and everybody. So, where is the money then?”
Force a solution
Touching on what many describe as his brashness and disrespect for institutions in Ghana, the outspoken MP explained that he does not wake up and go looking for fights with Ghanaian officialdom.
“Far from that!” he said. He challenges the authorities, he said, because “I feel there’s a problem that we have to address … I don’t deliberately go out there to challenge authority, but I challenge authority when the issues are there and [are] affecting the citizens of this country.
“So, those who ignore it or blatantly take advantage of the ignorant and cheat them – I come on their behalf and defend the vulnerable,” he said.
Despite incurring a great deal of displeasure in the course of standing up for the defenseless, Agyapong said that his desire to continue is as resolute as ever, because: “That’s how life is.”
Man of integrity
Agyapong, who touched on a broad range of issues during the hour-long interview, ranging from family to politics and business, described himself as “a man of integrity, a man who says it as it is. That’s it.”
This, he said, has led to him sometimes being labelled as haughty or arrogant.
“Anybody who stands for the truth, some will perceive you to be very harsh, some will say you are cool or quiet. So it depends on the person that you are dealing with.
“And of course, anybody that you criticise will definitely see you as a harsh person and anybody that the criticism goes in favour of will also say you are a nice person,” the politician said.
“So, you can’t satisfy everybody, but I say it as it is.”
Navigating life’s challenges
Like any successful businessman, Agyapong encountered many challenges from the day he conceived the idea of becoming an entrepreneur and creator of jobs for the masses of unemployed Ghanaian youth.
But surprisingly, he has never considered any of these challenges as a make-or-break moment. He has always prepared and has “psyched myself that, whatever the situation is, I will bravely storm it”.
“So, I am not really scared about anything and nothing has broken me down yet,” he said.
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