Ghana’s ¢610 Million – Dr Mensa Otabil & the Stupid Christians Who Stand With Him

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Religion impedes critical thinking, it’s the only poison that is capable of making decent men and women support thievery, human atrocities, injustice and even surrender their thinking faculties in hope for a fabricated redemption. And this, for centuries, has been the adversary curtailing the progress of those who deeply subscribe to it, largely poor Africans.

In sub-Saharan Africa lies a country called Ghana, with an overwhelmingly huge religious population—headed by pockets of conmen, parading themselves as intermediaries of the religious populace and an invisible celestial dictator, God. These conmen, also grossly cruel, swindle the poor on the back obsolete monolithic era doctrines and the poor, I mean the blind fools, call these charlatans men of God or spiritual fathers.

They do not just call them men of God, they also forcefully cloth them in a shield of immunity—so thick that, even when these conmen have been caught in action, they refuse to accept the glaring fact, and with all pride, ‘stand with these men.’

A few years ago, a non-religious leader from Ghana called Alfred Woyome, an astute businessman, received some 51million cedis as judgment debt from the state. Later, the Supreme Court of Ghana asked him to cough up the money after the apex court declared the payments unlawful.

The above matter involved complex contracts and legal arguments. But the Ghanaian social media landscape crucified the man in unison, for receiving 51million cedis that were willingly paid to him, albeit later deemed illegitimate.

No one, not even any of the countless imbeciles in Ghana was seen on social media as standing with this man who continues to fight his innocence and the legitimacy of the payments through the courts scattered around us.

The mantra was, Woyome is a thief who has caused financial loss to the state. Some even called for his head to be put on a spike because Ghana comes first.

Same Ghana and its citizens have recently suffered greatly, caused by the porous banking sector, in an attempt by the Bank of Ghana to prevent further leakage. Some banks including Capital Bank have been closed down because of financial mismanagement—perhaps, embezzlement.

As the banking crisis deepened a few days ago with the consolidation of 5 other banks, media attention moved into that sector again, and it has emerged that at the time Capital Bank, with Rev. Mensa Otabil as the board chairman, was on its knees, the Bank of Ghana took 610 million cedis (about 128 million dollars) of taxpayers’ money and gave it to the bank, to help safeguard it from collapsing.

Eventually, the bank collapsed. What happened to the money Bank of Ghana gave to the bank? This million-dollar question leads you through a longwinded wormhole, to the doorsteps of those who were in charge of the bank, especially Mensa Otabil, the chairman of the board.

Among other financially shocking transactions that took place after the Bank of Ghana bumper 610 million cedis came in, the board of directors of Capital Bank with Otabil has the chairman “dished out ¢27.5m to a Board member to hype the business. The word in the report was “business promotion”. While still under distress but having received the bail-out, the board approved an expenditure of ¢2.6M and $50,000 on “re-branding.”

The board of directors with Otabil as chairman “ratified a proposal to increase the fees and benefits of directors (themselves), including two first and business class air tickets for all members of the board.”

Further, 130 million cedis of the given 610 million cedis “was transferred to Alltime Capital, a transfer that needed some explanation from the CEO Ato Essien who said the transfers were “strategic,” and “highly classified information.”

“The transfers were expected back into the bank by March 2016 – in five months, he said with additional assurance from the chairman, Dr Mensa Otabil.”

It gets worse: a published internal report outlines how millions of the bank money was used to buy a property at Labone, Accra—and concludes with the names of shareholders as well as share liabilities as follows:

1. Mr Willaim Ato Essien 5229,529,910.28
2. Dr Stephen Enchill 116,246,711.79
3. Mr John Kofi Mensah 105,678,828.90
4. Otabil& Associates Rep
by Dr. M. Otabil 73,975,180.23
5. Isaac Osah Thompson-Mensah 52,839,414.45
6. Mr. Kinsley Attah Ghansah 52,839,414.45
7. Mr Isaac Oheneba Osei Akoto 52,839,414.45
8. International Gospel Church
rep, by Dr Mensah Otabil 31,703,648.67
9. Rev. Edwin Obeng Donkor 2 1,1135,765.78
Total 100 56,788,289.00

Mensa Otabil was not just a director of the bank, he was the chairman and a shareholder. His church, International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), was also a shareholder. This seems like a team of people and their companies, scamming the hell out ordinary Ghanaians.

The huge amount said to have disappeared under his incompetent watch, to be paid by the state, is far bigger than the loss Woyome caused us. And yet, because he is a religious leader, he is being shielded by a bunch of zealots from his church, with a social media ‘I Stand With Him’ campaign.

In the name of God, people continue to do evil, steal from the poor, act recklessly and cause others their lives or livelihood and instead of us holding them to even a higher standard by virtue of what they should represent, we rather jump to their defense backed by the same ‘holy book’ they besmirch—that, touch not my anointed.

If the anointing of God causes financial loss of such magnitude with undulation effects such as loss of jobs and the taxpayers’ footing the eventual bill, then that’s more like the anointing of the other guy they call Satan.

Otabil and his cronies do not deserve any special treatment or collective support, even from the lunatics doing so on social media. They must face the consequence of their actions—and the public must be upset enough. The false religious shield of immunity must be destroyed and he must be treated with gross contempt like we will do if it was a fucking non-religious leader.

If you are not stupid, why would you stand with a man who was the head watch of a bank that did this to its hardworking employees and ‘squandered’ 610 million cedis of our money, given to them by the Bank of Ghana?

By: Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri

14 COMMENTS

  1. You have made a good commentary with the infusion of Mr. Woyome’s issue but insulting Christians, the Bible and the Supreme God as a dictator only plunges your submission into abyss where your choice of words dictates that of an atheist or person in some society that is against Christianity and not religion as a whole. I advise that there are Christians who are discerning because of the Holy Spirit so don’t bluntly chastise Our faith all together because you think some group of persons have erred and needed some “bashment” my brother, stick to the analysis of the issue and desist from putting the faith in one box.

  2. Don’t know if I should laugh or sympathize with you. With you should have seen this incompetence and questioned the board’s experience in banking.

    You followed the incompetent instructions, running the bank down. The blind who didn’t know the way but led the way and the visionary who could see but followed the blind, I don’t know who should be tagged as incompetent or stupid as the article mentions.

    Let’s use our heads in the manner God created it to work. Investigate and bring those who plundered the bank and tax payers money to book.

    With this distorted way of analysis, I feel sorry for the person’s next employer especially if he is a Christian.

  3. Africa should be given to critical thinkers and Ghana in particular should be ruled by a merciless dictator for the benefit of our future generations.

  4. All you know is to write ‘brofo’. Let us see you start companies and businesses that employ millions of ghanaians, and fail, start again and fail, start and succeed before your loud-mouthed english will make sense. Ghana needs solvers, not talkers.

  5. We are no supporter of abuse of public trust. But this author makes ill-informed and reckless pronouncements on no doubting his attack on christianity since it appears the only “religion” in appearance.on this issue. Even the law provides opportunity for redemption and demands proof before conviction. The author and others who assume better insight or level headedness more than.the “the christian rabble” should show that by exercising better discretion. By this hasty indictment they seem to have hastily abandoned the critical thinking they believe they own. This lack of reasoning cuts across our entire culture. It has nothing to do with christianity or religion in general. Our general lack of attention to cause and effect, our careless about diligence, that is what has brought our entire society to this pass. We year in and out vouch for leaders who cannot take us anywhere, the evidence fully before.our eyes in the degradation of every measure of quality of life over the years. Our culture is wanting. That is the cause. Its effect is on every aspect of.our life: our religion, our professions, our morals as a people.

    This is the stand.of christianity on wisdom
    Proverbs 3:13-14
    Happy is the man that finds wisdom and the man that gets understanding for the merchandise of it is better than silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies and all the things that thou canst desire are not.to be compared with her……..

  6. Oh Chris…u get it right but sometimes your approach and the way you present some of the issues and subjects. I can sense you are incensed. Look i agree that no one for that matter even a personality like Doc Otabil is above the law and if found to have broken any law must be treated like any other with no special treatments even for some of the great things he has done or inspired. But lets allow our systems to work. Investigations still on-going. Lets not condemn and insult. Any people will jump to support a mentor or their inspiration when others are condemning insulting etc. Its only natural. However the Christians you call stupid are not! I have followed their stance at least that of his Church and the Church has noted that he is not above reproach but people should hold on on the character assasinations till the findings are officially out. Chris i like you but please this one charley even though you have the facts you have jumped the gun certain places. Lets wait a little while bro.

  7. Well written but you could have done it without insults to Christians and men of God. From your own submission, you admit that Woyome was given a fair trial for so many years before Ghanaians descended on him to repay the cash. You have not been fair to Otabil since investigations have not been completed and he has not also been tried. You should know that “one is not guilty until proven guilty”. You seem to have so much bitterness and hatred for Otabil and Christians. You are entitled to your beliefs but pray that the living God forgives you. Ashesgyamera.com should not just publish every article. You were not bold enough to write your name. I presume that you wrote this article from your own website that is why. God help you!

  8. @chris-vincent agyapong febiri. For your infomation we actually love being “stupid” for the Lord, be it through the man of God or not ! I just hope your supposedly “wise sayings” and “smart nature” lands you in Heaven or grants you a reward before God !#Shalom

  9. I couldn’t agree more with Chris-Vincent, no one should be shielded when they commit crime if even they are men of God. Often times these so-called men of God used their privileges to embezzle and steal from the poor.

    This case shouldn’t just go silent, the board should be prosecuted and jailed if found culpable.

  10. Though i agree nobody is above the law and am not a Christian, i do not subscribe to insults. However, we the poor taxpayers demand accountability. And the law must deal anyone found to be culprable.

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