News
Overnight success a myth; get used to discomfort’ – Yahya Diab
The Chief Executive Officer of Veros Petroleum Limited, Mr Yahya Diab, has said there is nothing like “overnight” success.
“It is a myth”, the member of one of the oldest Lebanese families that resettled in Ghana in the 1960s said in a write-up.
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs who deal in general merchandise and are also in the construction, real estate; and oil and gas industries, Mr Diab, whose company is a registered and licensed firm in the downstream oil and gas sector and specialises in petroleum retailing, bulk distribution, bunkering, storage facilitation and the sale of lubricants, said “success doesn’t come overnight” but “takes years of consistent effort”.
He said success is a result of never-ending determination, consistency and hard work.
Mr Diab said although “many individuals relate success to a single day’s improvement that uplifts them from rags to riches”, that is a misconception.
On the contrary, he noted that: “Individuals invest a lot of their daily hours and unparalleled devotion into their enterprise or thought to make their desires flip into actuality”, stressing: “Success is a long-run plan and never a single-day prevalence”.
Successful people, Mr Diab noted, “invest many of their daily hours and unparalleled devotion into their business or idea to make their dreams turn into reality”.
Success, he underscored, “is a long-term plan and not an overnight occurrence”.
He observed that “onlookers would think that people have succeeded overnight but the truth is that that person is reaping the benefits of his or her hard work over the years he strived”.
“There are no shortcuts or off-roads to success in life”, Mr Diab added.
He advised young, brilliant and upcoming entrepreneurs that they “can turn out to be profitable at a younger age when they channel all their time, power, and resources in the direction of their profession that older individuals of their fields didn’t”.
Entrepreneurship, he admitted, “is bitter but its fruits are sweet”, adding that “whenever you decide on your plans and targets, no matter how onerous it will get, you’ll positively succeed”.
Mr Diab also urged entrepreneurs not to give up when they falter or fall on their journey, saying “mountains don’t rise without earthquakes”.
“Entrepreneurs must get used to being uncomfortable because it is part of the journey to greatness”, he added.
Mrs Patience Antonio, a Child and Family Development Advocate, has called for a national campaign to reduce the growing reliance on breast milk substitutes among nursing mothers in Ghana.
According to Mrs Antonio, scientific evidence shows that breastfeeding improves a child’s emotional stability, boosts intelligence, strengthens the immune system, and provides long-term health benefits. She made these remarks in an interview with The Spectator in Accra last week, emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding for a child’s overall development.
She explained that breastfeeding is not just a biological act of feeding but a key emotional and developmental bridge between mother and child. She also highlighted the need for the recommended six-month maternity leave period to ease the pressure on mothers to return to work prematurely.
“Breastfeeding creates intimacy and trust. It assures the baby of love and security, which becomes the foundation for their emotional health,” Mrs Antonio noted, warning that abandoning exclusive breastfeeding could have long-term implications on children’s social and emotional wellbeing.
Consequently, she called for a minimum of five months of fully paid maternity leave for Ghanaian mothers to enable effective breastfeeding, bonding, and healthier child development. She also urged workplaces to implement family-friendly policies, including private spaces for breastfeeding, flexible working arrangements for nursing mothers, and stronger support systems for new parents.
Mrs Antonio further encouraged families and society to actively support mothers during breastfeeding, stressing that many women struggle due to lack of assistance at home or the pressure to return to work too soon. She emphasized, “If we want a healthier, emotionally stable generation, then we must make breastfeeding a priority and support mothers to do it without stress.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Spectator
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The Nanvili Community School in the Mion District of the Northern Region is facing severe infrastructural challenges, affecting teaching and learning for pupils in the area.
The school, which serves five surrounding communities with a total of 58 pupils, has deteriorated to the extent that many children have stopped attending classes. Poor classroom conditions and the lack of desks have made teaching and learning difficult. During a visit to the school, the gate-free classrooms were found filled with goat and sheep droppings.
During the rainy season, both teachers and pupils are often cut off from the school due to bad roads and flooding. Teaching activities are frequently suspended for weeks, negatively affecting academic performance.
The Assemblyman for the area, Mr. Dawuni Mutawakil, expressed concern, noting that the situation is worrying since these pupils are expected to compete with their counterparts in urban areas who have access to better facilities. He added that due to limited space, classes have been merged, with pupils from Primary One and Two, Three and Four, and Five and Six sharing the same classrooms.
The Chief of Nanvili, Abu Kassim, also appealed to the government and non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of the community. He emphasized that the current state of the school discourages children from nearby communities from attending.
Both the Chief and Assemblyman have called for urgent intervention to improve infrastructure and provide furniture for the pupils to ensure quality education for children in the Nanvili area.
By Geoffrey Buta, Nanvili, Northern Region
Spectator
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