NPP Pastors (Otabil, Bempah, others) Lick Wounds

In the aftermath of the December elections, Pastors who either openly or indirectly supported the NPP are in a state of grief. In some cases these NPP Pastors even invoke God, lamenting how God could have sat down to allow the Electoral Commissioner to declare results that God did not want.

One of such self-anointed Pastors is “Reverend” Owusu Bempah, founder and General Overseer of Glorious Word Power Ministries International, in an abject state of bereavement, has been lamenting about what he claimed God told him in a vision that although Nana Akufo Addo would win the 2012 presidential elections, he would face difficulties in the aftermath.

Then there is the case of Pastor Mensa Otabil, another Overseer, this time, of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) whose hatred for the National Democratic Congress manifested itself in the run-up to the elections when he described NDC members as “evil” and a “sinister force” led by President John Mahama. All that had happened was that some people that he perceived as members/supporters of the NDC were propagating his sermons. His anger was based on the fact that those sermons contained statements that indicted the position and posture of Nana Akufo Addo and the NPP.

It may be recalled that just before the second round of the 2008 presidential elections, Pastor Otabil lent credence to a wild and vicious rumour that he was on a hit list of people to be assassinated if NDC won the elections. Pastor Otabil followed his curses on the NDC by devoting a whole sermon, just before the 2012 elections, calling on people not to vote for people he classified as “evil” and “sinister forces”.

He campaigned, in an apparent reference to the people of the Volta Region, that they should not be “persistently staying glued to one political party despite their under-performance”. He added that political parties were bribing voters with food and money, as well as party Tee shirts and that people should shun them.

This was in reference to the situation in which in the 2012 elections the ability of the NPP to give voters money and food was limited. Paradoxically, when the NPP was showering voters with food, cash, fertilizers, etc in 2008, he voiced no such objection. Then there is the case of self-acclaimed “Prophet” Kofi Amponsah, who condemned people he called “evil forces from the North”, saying that they would fail by the power of God. He added: “This time around, God will rule” and the evil forces from the North would fail in the elections. His wishes were not fulfilled and he is reported to be inconsolable in Kumasi. It appears funny that God appeared not to have listened to the prayers of these “Men of God”. It is also interesting that several of such Churches, in order to play on the psyche of Ghanaians to join them, always add the word “International” to the name of their Churches. In the last 40 years, Ghana has witnessed a flood of “pastors”, “bishops” and “reverends” who always claim to have been called by God to preach and help people to go to Heaven, when the real intention is to take advantage of the gullibility of the poor or ignorant people to enrich themselves.

The method is to learn the skills of reading, preaching and a confident posture which helps in extracting money from vulnerable people.

As they tread this path, they are aware that although their eloquent preaching may in fact help people to turn away from their sins; the real aim is to profit materially in the process.

Their trade grows out of the practice of abusing the norms of the traditional churches and adopting it to suit themselves. As the times go on, they virtually elevate themselves to the status of saints and holy men. They assume that any criticism of their practice is an insult of God.

It is a similar pretence to being near God which made Nana Ampadu claim in 2008 that God had told him that Nana Akufo Addo would win the 2008 elections. Now it looks as if they may have four more years to pray to sway God to win the 2016 elections to their blessed “All-Die-Be-Die” politicians. For the time-being they would have no choice but to get over their sorrows and see how to win more money from their congregation before the next general election season in four years.