Newly appointed chairman of DAAR Communications, Raymond Paul Dokpesi Jr. who succeeded his father, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi has described the patriarch as a very successful person in most spheres of life except as a family man.
Dokpesi Jr. made this remark in an interview he granted Weekend Trust.
According to him, his father has always acknowledged the fact that he was not a successful father and husband.
He said: “I think my father would be the first to tell you that he has been successful in all areas aside his family. He is doing much better now as an older gentleman, he’s taking more time to spend with his family. I do recall when I was much younger, seeing my dad was very rare because he was always travelling and what I have essentially learnt is that you only grow up once and my kids and I will only have this chance once.
“So it is necessary no matter how busy I am, that I find time to spend with my children. It will define their relationships with their spouses and possibly their children.”
The DAAR Communications chairman who expressed displeasure at the general notion that his father was not paying the company’s staff said it was a misconception.
“I see a lot of comments online and in social media that ‘Dokpesi is eating all the money and not paying his workers’ and it is sad especially when one knows the truth. He has invested his all and empowered people by giving them opportunities to go and develop within the system.
“Over the past six years, he hasn’t actively been involved in the day-to-day activities of the company so he has delegated a lot of responsibilities to people in the company. He’s not the type of person who wants to downsize his staff so that he can pay others. And for the fact that people have worked with him for so long, he doesn’t want to let them go. He is a more compassionate person than perceived,” he explained.
