Ghanaian British Soldier Shares How He Joined the British Army With His Rasta Without Paying a Cedi
- Terry Kwame Obeng, aka Strabo Quame on TikTok, a Ghanaian now serving in the British Army, claimed to have been cheated out of a spot in the Ghana Prison Service, despite meeting all the relevant qualifications
- Not to be deterred, he joined the British Army with his dreadlocks and tattoos, without paying a single cedi, with training and accommodation costs covered
- Strabo Quame is proud of his achievements, believing that despite experiencing setbacks early in his career, things worked out for the better
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A Ghanaian man in the British Army, known on TikTok as Strabo Quame but privately as Terry Kwame Obeng, recently told an interesting story.
Source: TikTok
He explained how he joined the British Army with his dreadlocks, without paying anything, after he had a bad experience trying to join Ghana’s security services
Terry said that between 2018 and 2019, he tried to join the Ghana Prison Service and the Ghana National Fire Service.
At the time, many security agencies like the Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces were recruiting. In his narration, he reiterated that he wasn't interested in becoming a soldier or joining the Ghana Police Service.
Strabo Quame wanted to join the Fire Service most. The Prison Service was his second choice.
“Those two were the easiest options for me (Police & Army), but I was not attracted to them,” he explained. “My first choice was the Fire Service. If that failed, then I wanted the Prison Service.”
Strabo Quame bought forms to apply to the Fire Service, but they never called him. The Prison Service invited him for a screening in Cape Coast Nkaful Prisons.
Terry never got called to training camp
Strabo Quame passed all the tests, including checks for tattoos, and also passed the written exams. Even though he did well, he waited for months but never got a call for training.
He was both curious and confused. He got in touch with someone he had met during the assessment and was broken to find out that training had already started.
He looked into it and learned that someone had allegedly used his name, Terry Kwame Obeng, to attend the training camp in his place.
As a result, he missed the opportunity to join the service, despite being qualified.
A Facebook friend changed his life
Years later, his life changed because of social media. He got a friend request on Facebook from a Ghanaian man in the British Army.
They became close friends, and when the soldier came back to Ghana for his father’s funeral, they finally met.
During their meeting, he learned that the British Army was recruiting and was encouraged to apply.
With help from his friend and another person named Danny, his application was processed.
He sent in all the needed papers and was later invited to the UK for assessment. At the time, he said he had money problems and was being harassed by loan companies.
His father helped him by giving him 4 plots of land to sell so he could pay for his visa application.
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“I was in serious debt and being chased by loan companies,” he said. “When my visa came out, I cried. The success I was chasing came from a completely different direction.”
Terry Kwame Obeng joined the British Army
When he got to the UK, the British Army took care of his housing, meals, travel, tests, and training. He passed his tests and got accepted on that same day.
Since then, he's done some cool stuff, like help out during King Charles’ coronation, win medals, and get interviewed by big news outlets like the BBC, Sky News, and the Daily Mail.
Looking back, Terry Kwame Obeng wondered why his dreadlocks and tattoos would have stopped him from joining the army in Ghana.
The British Army let him in without any bribes, forms, or hard rules. He said that joining the Ghana Army might have cost him about GH₵50,000 to GH₵60,000 under the table.
Watch the video of his story on TikTok below:
Terry Kwame Obeng thinks this is something that really needs to be fixed.
Source: TikTok
Sacked recruit turns appliance seller shares story
Previously, YEN.com.gh reported that a 2015 dismissed Army recruit who now runs an electrical appliance business broke his silence after a viral video he posted sparked public reactions
He denied claims in the public domain that recruits abandoned training, citing difficulty, describing the dismissal as unfair and based on false accusations
Richard said he travelled from Bolgatanga for screening and remains emotional about how the incident changed his life
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
