Related: Youth unemployment will hamper galamsey fight — Sam Jonah
Speech By Sir Sam Jonah
Good day… students of Wisconsin University.
It is both an honor and a privilege to stand before you today.
I was born at the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation… four generations ago. That sounds like a long time, doesn’t it?
And yet it feels like yesterday.
Time is swift. One day, you are a student. The next you are a leader, a mentor, a changemaker. Today, I stand here in that role. Tomorrow that mantle will rest upon you.
My own journey from a small mining town in Obuasi, to studying Mining Engineering, to becoming Executive President of AngloGold Ashanti taught me a profound truth: The future… is now.
Every day you live is the tomorrow you dreamt about yesterday. If today does not please you, perhaps it is because yesterday’s choices were careless. But here lies the beauty of life: every sunrise brings you a fresh canvas on which to paint a better tomorrow.
So I say to you do not drift into the future. Design it. Beyond These Walls Here at Wisconsin University, you enjoy the privilege of learning, the gift of opportunity, the comfort of belonging. But do not let these walls define you. Do not let them confine your imagination.
Your competition is not just the person sitting beside you. It is not limited to Ghana’s 69 universities. It extends across Africa’s 1,274 institutions… and into a world of over 32,000 universities.
Daunting? Of course. But here is the truth: The fiercest competition… is not out there.
It is within you.
It is the fight to conquer laziness.
The struggle to silence self-doubt.
The battle to overcome fear of failure.
And when you win that inner contest trust me you will outpace the world.
Excellence does not check your passport.
It does not care for your background.
It answers only to discipline, persistence, and vision.
Communication: The Bridge to Leadership
Since many of you are students of communication studies, let me pause
here.