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.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has amended the charges in the ongoing case against former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Chief Executive, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and nine others.
The number of counts has risen from 25 to 54 after investigators uncovered new evidence.
The accused are facing trial for alleged large-scale extortion, abuse of public office, and money laundering involving over GH¢291 million and US$332,000.
According to the OSP, the accused persons allegedly extorted huge sums of money from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies under the pretext of carrying out official duties.
The proceeds were reportedly laundered through the purchase of properties and investments in business entities to conceal their source.
The accused persons include Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Jacob Kwamina Amuah, Wendy Newman, Albert Ankrah, Isaac Mensah, Bright Bediako-Mensah, Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited.
The OSP has also seized and frozen several assets, including tanker trucks, fuel stations, houses, apartments, and parcels of land valued at more than GH¢100 million pending the outcome of the trial.
The case, titled The Republic v. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid & 9 Others (Cr/0603/2025), is currently being heard at the Accra High Court.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The National Operations Directorate (NOD) Surveillance Unit, of the Ghana Police Service has arrested a 32-year-old man, Akoto Nelson, for posing as a police officer during a public event at the Black Star Square in Accra.
The suspect was arrested on Sunday, 19th October 2025, by a team of officers deployed to provide security at a musical concert. The team observed the suspect dressed in a police uniform with the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) behaving suspiciously. Upon interrogation, he admitted that he was not a police officer.
Investigations revealed that the suspect impersonated a police officer to gain free entry to the event, claiming he did not have money to pay the entry fee. He further disclosed that the uniform belonged to a deceased Chief Inspector, identified as Gyasi, from whom he obtained the police accoutrements in 2022.
A subsequent search conducted at his residence in Taifa-Ashaiman uncovered several items that were retained as exhibits. These include one toy P99 pistol, one pepper spray, two ZTE mini handsets, one pepper spray pouch, one ZTE charger, one Xinfa cutter knife, some complimentary cards, one voter ID in the name of Akoto Nelson Elikem, and one birth certificate in the name of Nelson Akoto.
Preliminary investigations further established that the suspect works as a security guard and a messenger at a private company. He remains in police custody and will be put before the court.
