Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

DJ Ohema Oyeje Says: “I Don’t Do Friends” | Life Beyond Opinions
What happens when you stop living for people's approval?
In this powerful and unfiltered conversation, celebrated Ghanaian media personality, DJ and entrepreneur DJ Ohemaa Woyeje sits down with Derrick Abaitey on Konnected Minds Podcast for a deeply personal conversation about identity, friendship, fame, money, family, career, faith, business and the pressure to live up to other people's expectations.
Ohema opens up about some of the most misunderstood parts of her life — including why she says “I don’t do friends,” why she doesn't work for fame, why she stopped some award organisations from nominating her, how she learned to ignore negative opinions, and why she believes many people are exhausting themselves trying to impress others.
🎟️ KONNECTED MINDS LIVE — 9th September, KNUST Great Hall, Kumasi. Network with entrepreneurs and business minds who are building in Ghana.
Grab your ticket here: https://www.konnectedmindslive.com/

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🎙️ ABOUT THE HOST
Derrick Abaitey is a Ghanaian entrepreneur, podcast host, and personal development advocate.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey/?hl=en

He's a legal expert who has helped countless Ghanaians and diaspora investors navigate the complex world of land acquisition, and he says the biggest lie young people believe is that you need to rush and pay for land immediately when the reality is you must test the land for eight weeks with a grader to expose rival claimants before making any payment.

In this episode, our guest breaks down the raw truth about why you don't buy land in Ghana but acquire interest in land, why there is no law in Ghana that states you must be granted 99 years or any specific duration because it's an agreement between you and your grantor, and why understanding the difference between allodial title, customary usufructuary interest, freehold, and leasehold is the foundation that separates those who build generational wealth from those who fall into litigation and lose everything. From explaining why allodial title is the supreme title vested in families, stools, clans, skins, and tindanas, to revealing why freehold interest was abolished in Ghana on 22 August 1969 but those who acquired freehold before that date can still grant it today, to breaking down why usufructuary interest means you are an indigent of the place and your land must be automatically renewed after 99 years on the same terms, this is the blueprint for understanding why some diaspora investors secure their properties legally while others lose millions to bad deals, fake documents, and litigation.

We dive into the brutal reality of testing land before payment, why if you take a grader to somebody's land for eight weeks and no rival claimant comes forward you can proceed to make payment and get your document, and why this process protects you because land is a tangible commodity and grading exposes disputes before you lose money. We break down why you should never rush to pay for land, why after eight weeks of grading you may have already constructed something on the wall and tested the land, and why once there are no issues you proceed to make payment depending on the arrangement with the grantors and then register at the Lands Commission. We discuss why you can only give what you have, why you must first establish what sort of interest your grantor has before negotiating what they will give you, and why this is the number one mistake people make when acquiring land.

But we also confront the uncomfortable truth about the 99 year convention, why the 99 years that people talk about is an adopted convention from common law because Ghana practices the British system, and why there is no law in Ghana that mandates 99 years which is why many developers are now giving 50 years or 60 years interest. We unpack why freehold means you own the land to perpetuity with no reversionary interest to anybody, why the framers of the 1969 constitution abolished freehold so that land would rotate in a cycle, and why if your family acquired freehold interest before 1969 you can still grant that freehold interest today. We discuss why usufructuary interest is automatically renewed after 99 years on the same terms, why this means if you paid $300,000 for that plot 99 years ago your children will pay the same $300,000 after inflation has eaten the value, and why being an indigent gives you this powerful advantage.

We get into the strategy of leasehold interest, why those with freehold interest including the state, individuals, clans, stools, and skins who own allodial title can grant leasehold, and why leasehold has a commencement date and an expiration date because you are leasing the interest in the land. We break down why Ghanaian citizens can lease as many years as they want with the common law maximum of 99 years, why the law says grantors must provide automatic renewal with implied covenants within the contract, and why you don't need the vendor to state it because it's already implied within the provisions. We discuss why you must agree on renewal terms at the time you are signing the lease, why after 99 years you should negotiate a clause that says your descendants only pay 5% of the actual valuation of the land, and why structuring this relationship today prevents future disputes.

We also tackle the powerful lesson about drafting contracts, why you should never look at how beautiful the relationship is today but instead look at the worst form of the relationship in 99 years, and why drafting a contract thinking about how adversarial the parties could get in the future is what protects generational wealth. We break down why people just take the document and start flaunting it without reading verbatim, why you must read everything in the contract or get a lawyer or sister to help you, and why land is a generational asset and the most important investment so you must guard it with all your might and get professionals to help you.

Your Children Could Destroy Everything You Built - Here's Why

You worked for decades to build the business. You acquired the properties. You created the wealth.

But what happens when you're gone?

Will your children grow it, preserve it - or destroy everything you spent your life building?

In this powerful episode of Konnected Minds Podcast, we sit down for a deep conversation about generational wealth, African family businesses, inheritance, succession planning, family governance and the systems wealthy families use to preserve their wealth across generations.

Our guest, a family business advisor and family office expert with 10 years of experience, shares lessons from working with wealthy families across Africa and explains why so many successful African businesses struggle to survive beyond the founder.

🎟️ KONNECTED MINDS LIVE — 9th September, KNUST Great Hall, Kumasi. Network with entrepreneurs and business minds who are building in Ghana.

Grab your ticket here: https://www.konnectedmindslive.com/

Chapters

00:00:00 The Kantamanto Business Problem
00:03:10 What is a Family Office?
00:04:13 Why African Businesses Don't Last Generations
00:06:37 The Undoing of the Next Generation
00:07:21 Preparing the Next Generation for Business
00:08:54 The Father-Son Business Struggle
00:14:26 Position vs Authority in Succession
00:15:10 Family Governance and Constitution
00:23:44 Dealing with Complex Family Dynamics
00:27:42 Cultural Inheritance Practices in Africa
00:29:39 Why Wills Are Not Enough
00:32:23 Trusts, Foundations, and SPVs
00:33:46 Structuring Your Wealth: Practical Steps
00:38:19 When Children Don't Want the Business
00:43:04 Values: The Foundation of Lasting Wealth

Guest: Abiola Adediran is one of Nigeria’s finest Business and Executive Life Coaches, having worked as a corporate finance and business strategy expert for over a decade.

She is a keynote speaker, author, trainer and mentor, whose work and impact over the years have been instrumental in driving key transformation across different sectors in Nigeria.

Web: https://biolaflow.com/about/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/biolaflow

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🎙️ ABOUT THE HOST
Derrick Abaitey is a Ghanaian entrepreneur, podcast host, and personal development advocate.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey

He's a legal expert who has helped countless Ghanaians and diaspora investors navigate the complex world of land acquisition, and he says the biggest lie young people believe is that being married to a Ghanaian automatically qualifies you to own land for 99 years when the reality is you must become a Ghanaian citizen first before you can access maximum interest in property.

In this episode, our guest breaks down the raw truth about why 78% of Ghanaians aged 26 to 32 are unlikely to own their own homes in their lifetime, why non-Ghanaians including those married to Ghanaians can only legally acquire 50 years interest in property unless they go through the process of becoming citizens, and why understanding the difference between freehold, leasehold, sub-lease, assignment, and license is the foundation that separates those who build generational wealth from those who fall into litigation and lose everything. From explaining why a non-Ghanaian married to a Ghanaian who jointly acquire property together will only get 50 years because the Ghanaian has forfeited their Ghanaian interest, to revealing how diaspora investors can incorporate a company in Ghana with 60% Ghanaian shareholding and 40% foreign ownership to unlock 99 years interest, to breaking down why the 1969 legislation states that non-citizens have no automatic renewal after 50 years unless they negotiate renewal terms upfront with clauses like paying 10% of the property valuation after 50 years to extend another 45 years, this is the blueprint for understanding why some diaspora investors secure their properties legally while others lose millions to bad deals, fake documents, and litigation.

We dive into the brutal reality of sub-lease and head lease, why if Derek acquired 99 years and has already used 50 years he can only convey 49 years to the next buyer, and why potential buyers must take the head lease and verify the residual interest left in the property before purchasing. We break down why a lezor cannot grant you any covenant they don't have within their own lease, why if the land was demised for agriculture and the lezor sells it to you for real estate that is breach of contract and the original grantor has the right to enter and reclaim the land, and why doing due diligence on the head lease is non-negotiable. We discuss why assignment means the person is conveying everything they have to you including the reversionary interest, why this means when the original lease expires you don't go back to the immediate lezor but to the original Alodia owners, and why understanding this distinction is critical before signing any land documents.

But we also confront the uncomfortable truth about the various types of land in Ghana, why vested land is owned by families or stools but managed by the state through the Lands Commission, and why buying vested land without going through the Lands Commission is one of the primary reasons for litigation. We unpack why state lands are acquired by the government through compulsory acquisition for public use like hospitals and parliament house and the state has absolute authority over those lands, why family land is managed by the family head and not the chief, and why buying family land from a chief or buying stool land from a family head will land you in litigation. We discuss why it is so important to clarify the type of land you are buying because if you go and buy family land from a chief or stool land from a family head or state land from a family you will fall into litigation, and why this is one of the primary reasons it is so complicated to try to do land acquisition yourself without professional help.

We get into the strategy of how non-Ghanaians can structure their land acquisition, why incorporating a company with 60% Ghanaian shareholding and 40% foreign ownership allows the company to acquire 99 years interest, and why the moment foreign ownership crosses to 41% the company is deemed a foreign entity and loses that privilege. We break down why a non-Ghanaian can negotiate a 50 year lease with a 45 year renewal clause at 10% of the property valuation after 50 years, why this effectively turns 50 years into 95 years, and why structuring renewal terms upfront is the key to securing long term interest in property when you are not a Ghanaian citizen. We discuss why licensees who take land for farming typically have less than three years interest and don't have absolute possession over the land, why they just pay token to the owners, and why this is the lowest form of interest in land.