Africa-Press – Liberia. This week, we are once again pleased to highlight the success story of one of Liberia’s successful entrepreneurs, Elton Datee Johns, who is also considered as a financial service providers mainly to low-income individuals who are typically excluded from the traditional banking services.
‘Johns’ as he is affectionately call, is the son of Mr. Moses Alabar Johns and Ms. Gloria Nimely, and was born in Monrovia, left Monrovia at the age of five-years old was sent to his grandmother in Sione County to live with her, noting that being a child at that time wasn’t easy; it was a tough one, for some reasons best known to his grandmother there were some delay in getting him back to school.
Two years later, at age seven he was able to enroll at the St. Paul Parish High School in Sinoe County, being amongst other grandchildren living with their grandmother, he further expressed gratitude to his grandmother who he noted gave him an early education while growing up.
He further explained that his parents, mainly his father who was unemployed, could not afford to get an air ticket for him to come to Monrovia from Sinoe County because his grandmother had early come to Monrovia, he noted as a result of this he was compelled to get on board a Fanti fishing canoe which was on fishing expedition from Sinoe County to Rivercess.
“Those guys who took me from Sinoe County and did their fishing throughout the night when we got to Rivercess County assisted my unemployed father with some fish which was sold that enable us to board a bus from Rovercess to Buchanan, Grand Bassa County and then onward to Monrovia”, Johns in a rather soft-spoken tune explained to GNN.
He said when they arrived in Monrovia, he was taken to his Aunt who was residing on Jamaica Road, Bushrod Island who said she was unable to look after his father while at the same time looking after him (Elton), this he, made her to take him over to his mother in Logan Town, Bushrod Island.
He said while with his mother, it wasn’t an easy situation with his single mother, noting, “I sold Lotto tickets at the main entrance of the Freeport of Monrovia, in one way of the other, my mother managed to enroll me at the St. Mary High School in Duala, Bushrod Island, it was a troubling time for me, my mother having me and my younger brother, against another kid, a girl”, Elton speaking further recounted those difficult days during his early childhood.
He said as a result of the lack of finances, his mother took him to a place, at the A.M. Fofana School near the Fish Market, “With the hope of missionary adopting me, when he got there that day to be adopted, the guy we met said the program had been ended, as God could have it, this how my mother took me back”, he told the GNN during this exclusive interview at his office on Capitol Hill.
Johns said with all of these upheavals, he was able to graduate from the B.W. Harris Episcopal High School in the year 1999/2000, echoing, “It was a tough one, I could not even afford stuff that normal kids would have. My dream was to enroll at the medical school, but then my parents could not afford, so I did not get my dream accomplish. However, I was able to settle at the University of Liberia, there where I started to do Economic and Management,” Elton said.
He said while at the University of Liberia where his mother was loaning out money to students, which made him to form part of that, and begin to help his mother, adding, “I started working at my cousin beauty salon on the Old Road, Sinkor, because I came from the background of my grandmother who used to be a businessperson, and also my mother was also doing the same. We started to loan out cash to students and others who were in dire need at the University of Liberia, and some of her friends with minimum interest, that was how the entire idea came about”, he expounded on his activities.
Elton speaking also said, his own story is a story that motivate lots of people that could serve the way to change their lives, adding, “No matter your condition, there is a time and season for everything”, he told the GNN.
Speaking about his philosophy, the Bukonjadeh Group of Companies Chief Executive Officer said, “Be nice to people, live a sample life, and be sincere with people “, on his previous experience during his childhood life, Johns said sometimes he feels uneasy on what he went through, and urged the upcoming generation to be sincere in whatever they do for living.
Recounting those days when he used to go in the graveyard to gamble with other kids smoking weeds and other dangerous substances, said he did that to experience life in a positive way, and further rejected of joining others to steal. He advised young people who have engulfed with similar situations to chase what he called a positive as he did by making life useful for themselves in a bid for a better future.
Mr. Johns who is a Christian by religion is happily married to his beautiful and lovely wife, Fanta Tata Johns, who he has been very supportive of his success story. The family is blessed with four kids, with one out of wedlock, making the total of five kids.
As a successful businessman, Johns has traveled extensively to countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Spain including lots of African countries on businesses trips and touristic purposes. Speaking about his role model, Mr. Johns named the former South African President, the late Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela who dismantled the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation.
He noted that the then life of this great African Hero speak of humanity, making reference of one of his famous speeches which said, ‘Do not let the next person enemy to be your enemy’, he said this insinuation by the late president speaks to our daily lives, adding that there are people who just raise issue with others without substantive reasons and are expected to applauded.
Johns further bragged that honesty and sincerity is the hallmark of his business, rejecting criminalities in all his doings as a true businessman, stressing, “Our major focus and gain that propel us to this level, is sincerity, if you sit in here and want to always steal from your customers you will not succeed, one of our greatest hit in 2010 was our interest to invest in real estate where we invested most of our finances”, he told the GNN.
Concluding, the Bukonjadeh Group of Companies Chief Executive Officer vowed to establish a banking institution to be named Bukonjadeh Bank in the future, and finally said he is grateful to God for his blessings upon his family and business.
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