His story is a touching narrative, and he attributes his downfall mainly to marrying a woman who eventually left him after he had sponsored her move to the United States of America.
Though it was told in the year 2020, Edward Akwasi Boateng, a veteran gospel musician is back in the news after he was spotted selling Compact Discs (CDs) at a bus station in Kumasi.
During an interview with Akoma FM, Edward Akwasi Boateng revealed that he lost all 17 of his cars after getting married.
He further explained that his wife influenced him to become extravagant, causing him to spend beyond his means. Even after relocating to the US, she eventually divorced him upon realizing he had faced financial difficulties.
In the early 2000s, Edward Akwasi Boateng was a big name in Ghanaian gospel music and had a lot of successes including making over $300,000.
During that time, he lived a fancy life with 17 expensive cars and owned big houses all over the country.
He is now a Mobile Money agent and also sells CDs in his strive for survival.
He told Akoma FM that despite selling 55,500 copies of his popular song 'Adea Mep3' back in the day and earning a good amount from music, he encountered challenges in his other business ventures that led to his financial struggles.
This was on the back of assertions that he was to blame for his predicament.
“I have not been able to sleep for two days now because of the things I have heard and seen. On Tuesday, my children came to me for their school fees but I did not have money and did not know how to get the money so I decided to sell my pen drives to get the money.
“People are of the view that a musician like me with such a reputation, career and who previously owned about 17 cars and now I’m selling my own pen drive should have myself to blame. The false stories are many and when you say, they distort the information,” he noted.
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“I have been robbed eleven times. I bought two engines in less than a month for the car I used to sell my cassette. Then it malfunctioned and I got a new one. I could go for a loan of GH₵40,000 and pay an interest of GH₵20,000; so I was spending more than I earned,” Akwasi narrated with tears in his eyes.
“I did not get a helper so I spent more than I earned. At a point, I was not being fed in my own house but a teacher who has come to teach my children is rather fed. I have built my own house to accommodate us all but when food is being prepared, I’m not being fed because they say I did not provide money,” he added.
Ghanaian marriages automatically lead to poverty – Edward Akwasi Boateng
The veteran has argued that most marriages in Ghana lead to poverty. He reiterated that one of the reasons why he had a failed marriage was because he didn’t marry a helper. He said he married a woman who made him spend more than he could afford, adding that any marriage in Ghana leads to poverty.
“I spent more than I could afford and that affected me. Nowadays, we marry someone out of love and emotions but it is stated in the Bible that we should marry someone who would help us provide for the family.
"Outside Ghana, you get married if you want to be successful in life but in Ghana, you get married if you want to be poor. You fall into poverty the moment you get married. I never got a helper which is why I spent more than I could afford”, he said in his interview on Akoma FM.
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