NAM1 pops up in linguistic study

In linguistics, a word is the smallest distinct element of speech or writing that can be uttered in isolation with a clear meaning.

A word can stand alone or have another word added to it either before or after. A word added before another word is called a prefix, and one added after another word is known as a suffix.

In fact, Ghanaians are full of humour, and the Menzgold saga is bringing out much funny stuff. The root word for today’s word power segment is NAM.

NAM means Non-Aligned Movement, a group of states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It is also the initials of the beleaguered CEO of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah.

There are some interesting prefixes associated with NAM, such as Enyo, Esi, Etor, nsuom, aponkye, nantwi, and kraman.

And combining these words with NAM, we have EnyoNAM, EsiNAM, EtorNAM, nsuomNAM, aponkyeNAM, nantwiNAM and Kikikikikiki, kramanNAM. Apologies to all dog eaters oo; I don’t want any trouble this time around.

On a more serious note, tongues are wagging and people are asking why the government should allow NAM1 to collect GHC650 from victims of his alleged Ponzi scheme.

Menzgold, a gold dealership company that was started by Nana Appiah Mensah and folded up after taking millions in Ghana cedis from thousands of investors who found its 120% interest per annum very attractive.

The scheme which is believed to be the most publicized financial scam in Ghana's recent history, took deposits of about Ghs1.68 billion cedis from investors.

It is alleged that the contract offered to clients was "Aurum Utalium" which simply means fools' gold. But NAM1 later explained that "Aurum Utalium" refers to gold dore bar which means gold that is not 100% pure.

He further explained that "Aurum. Aurum" is pure gold which is 24 karat with purity of 99.99%, but "Aurum Utalium" is 22 karat gold with 92% purity.

It is also purported that the investment contract referred to a string of laws that did not exist or repealed laws that were simply inapplicable to the transaction.

In October 2018, about 16,000 investors of Menzgold petitioned the Ghana Police to help them retrieve their investments.

And on July 26, 2019, NAM1 pleaded not guilty to all the charges levelled against him, and the court presided over by Jane Harriet Akweley Quaye granted him bail to the tune of GHs1 billion with five sureties, three of which are to be justified.

However, a letter from Menzgold dated August 18, 2023, and signed by the CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah which has gone viral on social media states that customers who believe that they have genuine indebtedness transactions claims should check their transaction status by acquiring the Menzgold Digital Verification Access Card at GHC650 each.

And that customers who fail to undergo this process risk forfeiture of their purported claims, as their right of claim would have been waived by their failure on their part to discharge their obligation.

The jaws of many have dropped in distraught about this turn of events and are wondering where Ghanaians went wrong.

A gentleman who calls himself the Ombudsman has advised the people of Ghana to grab and read a copy of Cyprian Akwensis' book "...the Highway Robbers" and mirror it with what is happening.

Another person asked what the government is doing about that, and I told him to grab and read, "Birds of the Same Feathers Flock Together" written by Vulture Feather.