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A misalliance with the devil
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”. The Holy Bible (Psalm 53:1)
The greatest gift I ever received was the Bible, given to me by Mr Anyetei Sowah of BIBLE HOUSE on April 4, 1991. It saved my life. He was my mate in sixth form, and while some of us were easy-going, perpetually looking for adventure in town, he was a bit different and we all respected and admired him for his Godly ways, his mild manners, his wise counsel.
When I became a journalist, he paid me a visit and asked me to attend one of his plays which was staged at the Arts Centre. He performed in this magnificent drama and I recall the role of one character, Reverend Sozo Macumbe. As a reward for being present, Anyetei presented me with a gift – The Holy Bible. It was more than One Million Dollars.
Earlier, I had always wanted to possess one but found it extremely difficult to purchase although it was very cheap, about the equivalent of two bottles lager beer. I could buy several lagers for myself and friends and yet couldn’t bring myself to spending on a Bible.
When Anyetei brought me the wonderful gift, I confessed almost on my knees that if he hadn’t presented me with the Bible, I couldn’t have bought one for myself no matter how hard I tried. I then blamed the devil for my inability to spend on a Bible rather than on beer. Of course, everybody blames the devil, so why not Kwame Alomele.
The Bible I got made me quite religious and as I read through and prayed, I was able to veer from dangerous paths of temptation and self-destruction. It was also an opportunity for me to reminisce my born-again days of old when I drew very close to Christ until Satan tore me away and re-baptised me fully into sin.
I really did not know what happened to me at the time. I was strongly in the faith but suddenly Satan came round and presented the whole world to me in exchange for my soul. On the whole, it was not a bad deal and I accepted Satan’s offer. Man mon enjoy life, abi!
When Anyetei’s Bible came, I told myself, “Kwame, you’ll fall a thousand times and take the mandatory count like a battered boxer. But you won’t remain sprawled, in the name of Jesus! You’ll crawl, you’ll stagger but eventually rise above beer bottles and continue from where you left off. Halleluyah!”
Yeah, you’ve got to give God his due. If you are a Christian, be strong in the faith and don’t be a mere church-goer; if a Moslem, don’t fail to pray and read the Koran daily; if you’re a Buddhist, chant ‘Myoho renge kyo nam’ till your jaw breaks; and if you’re a follower of Krishna, chant ‘Hare Krishna Hare’ till you collapse. And if you want to follow the devil too, please go ahead and wind up in hell. And in hell, you’ll find yourself in the form of ‘human khebab, precisely ‘human suya’. Hare.
In any case, research has shown that religious persons rarely become neurotic or psychotic. A person who is in a grave financial distress but is religious would hardly commit suicide.
Aside all the divine benefits, there is a psychological consolation that with God all things are possible. This is not only psychological, but real.
Those who are religious and get gilted by their boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands or wives just laugh it off. They never get broken-hearted to the point of mental derangement.
After lamenting a day or two over the loss of her lover, a gilted girl who is truly religious would declare that “Jesus is now my boyfriend”. She would never go mourning for days, weeks, months and end up at the Psychiatric Hospital. No, not when Jesus has taken over the show.
Of late, I’ve come a bit closer to Jesus not because I’ve been gilted by a ‘babe’ or in financial distress; far from these. I have realised that a youngman must organise his life and your life can hardly be organised if you are not religious. Jesus is like a pillar of your life, just as Buddha or Krishna might be.
The Lord says, “When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm”. (Psalm 75:3).
If you come to learn that people like mystic writer LOBSANG RAMPA have turned over a new page in life doubled-up. He was an occultist and one of his and is now a born-again Christian, then it is time man famous books which is now very infamous is ‘THE THIRD EYE’. I have read it three times over.
Before Mr Rampa came into the Christian fold, he apologised to the world for having deceived people with his writings and led them away from the path of righteousness.
I fellowship at the E. P. CHURCH OF GHANA at Tema. It is regarded as a renegade wing of the E.P.CHURCH. When they broke away, I was furious with them and called them good-for-nothing devil-inspired idiots.
Today, that is where I meet Jesus for a chat. And that is where my younger brother Edward Alomele, a latter-day convert, does business with Christ.
In fact, when churches split, it is only an opportunity for the word to spread further. So the two churches are now far apart and doing the work of God to spread the good news further and further. They need not be antagonistic to each other after all. Isn’t it?
And it came to pass that last Sunday when I walked into the synagogue I espied Diana Akiwumi sitting on the dais. Not sure if it was her, I looked out for her husband; they are almost always together.
And lo and behold, there was the Reverend Samuel Akiwumi perching beside his superstar wife. They were our guests. Today be today, I said.
As expected, Lady Diana led the praise and worship. It was an inspiring ecclesiastical blitz as the lady songbird with a musical call took the congregation through an explosive spiritual extravaganza. I was completely overwhelmed with joy and if it hadn’t been for my weight I would have executed the monkey-dance Kwame Korkorti taught me years ago.
When it came to delivering the word, it was no other than Evangelist Samuel Akiwumi. I never knew he was such a vibrant preacher man. He delivered the sermon with total conviction and power and the congregation nodded and nodded with satisfaction. Basing his sermon on Chronicles 2 Chapter 20, he urged us to rely exclusively on God in times of trouble.
After the service I cornered the Europe-bound duo and asked them about the AKIWUMI GOSPEL MINISTRIES.
This article was first published on Saturday, July 22, 1995
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THE state of feeling rejected, could be a terrifying experience especially for those who have become used to fame. If not properly addressed, it could lead to depression and the consequences, could be disastrous.
When you are on top of your game in whatever profession you find yourself such that you become famous, a lot of people try to associate with you. The phone never ceases to ring and one is tempted to feel loved and very important.
When a disaster strikes and the fame or the money which was the source of the attraction fades away, the circle of friends and fans begin to shrink and the phone will start to stop ringing until the call stops voting completely.
You will be shocked at how people you considered friends, will no longer be calling you or pay casual visits as they used to. You will begin to notice that messages you leave after calling them and not getting a response are not replied to and that is when you begin to know who your true friends are.
One of the most popular movie stars was an actress called Sharon Stone. In an interview with one of the media houses that was published, she spoke about how people who should have come around to encourage her in her moment of depression, shunned her. The calls stopped coming.
This is what the Bible admonishes that the arm of flesh will fail you and therefore we should put our trust in God. It could be a very frightening experience and can easily lead to depression.
Human nature being what it is, people will want to get close if things are okay. Everybody wants to associate themselves with interesting things, famous people, rich people etc for mainly selfish reasons.
We need to develop the habit of putting our trust in God and relying less on human beings. The lesson we have to take along in life is that, no one marries his or her enemy so how come people who took vows that they will love each other become so hostile to each other that they want to go their separate ways in life? Such is the reality of life.
It is therefore prudent for people to recognise that, life is full of uncertainties and so there is the need to prepare your mind for uncertainties so that when they occur, they do not disorganise your mental sanity.
A lot of people have experienced situations where people who they could have sworn will never betray their trust have disappointed them when they were through challenging moments.
If there is one thing famous people should desire, it should be the ability to identify who are true friends are. Countless stories abound regarding incidence of celebrities who have lost their shine and their wives divorcing them soon after.
It is sometimes useful as a famous or rich person to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage to safeguard or protect yourself from any future unpleasant surprises.
People can be very pretentious these days, it goes both ways. There is this real life story where a man married a divorced wealthy woman and convinced her to sell her house so they could build a new one together, with the excuse that people are gossiping that he is being housed by a woman.
The woman agreed and they put up a new building. After a few years the man asked for a divorce, only for the woman to realise that the land on which the building was situated, was bought in the man’s name.
This can drive a person insane, if you are not mentally tough and this happens to you. When people hear that you are homeless, a lot of your so-called friends will stop calling, so that you do not become a burden on them.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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‘But, er …. I don’t even know your name’.
‘Paul. Paul Allotey. I’m Sarah, by the way. Paul, why don’t you leave me here, since this is the last important thing I’m doing today’.
‘Okay. Now Sarah. I was just thinking. You will be here at the cafe for about an hour. By then it will be about twelve thirty. Then, you would be thinking of buying yourself some lunch, to eat here or to take home. So if you would please allow me, I will take you to one of the nicest eating places in town, and after you have sorted that one out, then I can drop you home. Just that one errand, then I won’t bother you again’.
‘You are not bothering me at all. You are being very kind to me. And I just realised you are a mind reader too. The last item on my agenda was lunch’.
‘I’m so glad I appeared at your doorstep, just in time’.
‘Okay. Now Paul, since you say the cafe is a comfortable place, let’s go in together, and you can do your work while I get my application done’.
‘Okay, Sarah. Thanks. Let’s go’.
We got back in the car at eleven forty-five.
‘So where are we going, Paul?’
‘To Royalty restaurant. It’s a twenty minute drive away’.
‘So, do you enjoy your job?’
‘Most certainly. I won’t change it, not even to be President. And am I right to say that you are preparing to enter the university?’
‘That’s my plan. I hope it works’.
‘It will, if you are determined, and disciplined. You look very much like a disciplined person’.
‘Thank you very much’.
We arrived at Royalty in twenty-five minutes, ‘You are joining me for lunch, Paul’.
‘Thanks for the honour, Sarah. But the bill is on me’.
‘Aren’t you taking on too much for one day?’
‘I never do anything that is bigger than me, Sarah’.
Over the next hour and a half, we discussed fashion, local and international politics, and sports, as we ate and relaxed. Finally, he drove me to the shop.
‘I will never forget you, Paul’.
‘I’m glad to have been helpful. But if you don’t mind, I’ll say it again, your husband is extremely lucky. You are really beautiful’.
‘Thanks again. But do you mind if I call you sometime in the future?’
‘Certainly not. Let me write it here. I will not ask for your number, for obvious reasons. But I will be looking forward to hearing from you. And hopefully, I will see you next month, when I call to drop your bill’.
‘Okay Paul. See you then’. What a lovely day, I said to myself as I opened the front door. I closed the shop and got home by seven. I went straight to the bedroom, stood in the mirror and took a good look at myself. ‘You are a very beautiful woman, Sarah. Never forget that’. I will not forget that, again.
Over the next several weeks, Martin and I had very little to do with each other. In the morning he ate his breakfast and after a shabby ‘I’m going’, he left. He came home around eight at the earliest, ate his dinner and, already soaked in beer, went off to sleep.
He spent the greater part of the weekends at the club house with his friends, playing tennis and partying. My mind was focused on furthering my education, so I didn’t complain to him, and didn’t bother to inform my parents about what was happening. I had decided that I would only take action if he lifted his hand against me again. I spent my free time reading all manner of interesting stuff on the internet, and chatting with my sister on WhatsApp.
One evening, he came home at about eight, rushed to the bedroom and rushed out. An envelope, obviously containing money, dropped out of his pocket, and I picked it up and followed him. I was going to call him and give it to him, but I noticed that there was a young woman in the car, so I went back in, counted it and put it in a drawer in the hall. He came back after some ten minutes.
‘Excuse me, I dropped an envelope containing money. You must have seen it’.
‘Yes, I saw it. Actually, I followed you, and was about to call you and hand it over to you when I realised that there was a woman in the car, so I came back in. I counted it. One thousand cedis.
‘Well let me have it. I have to be going’.
‘I will let you have it if you will tell me who the woman in the car is, and why you are going to give her that amount of money’.
‘Listen, if you waste my time, I will teach you a lesson you will never forget. Give me the money now!’
‘Here’s what we will do, Martin. I know you will give money to her anyway, so I will give it to you, if you will withdraw the threat you just issued. But I want you to know that I will be taking some steps from tomorrow. Things are getting out of hand’.
‘Okay, I’m sorry I threatened you. Can you please give me the money’. I handed it over to him, and he ran out’.
The following morning, I waited for him to finish having breakfast, and told him I wanted to have a word with him urgently.
‘You better be quick. You know I’m going to work’.
‘Well, I want to inform you that I will inform my parents, and your parents, about the situation in this house. As I said yesterday, things are getting out of hand. You spend most of your time drinking. You get drunk every evening, and through the weekend. And you are also spending your time and money on a prostitute’.
‘How dare you? One more stupid word from you …’
‘Am I lying, Martin? You have just started life, yet you are behaving like a rich, elderly man who has already seen his children through university, and can afford a life of fun. As I said, I’m going to inform our parents. Maybe your parents can straighten you out before it is too late’.
‘Look, we can talk this evening. It’s nothing like what you are saying’. He walked away, shocked.
That evening, I was expecting to have a meaningful discussion with him, but his mother called early in the evening to offer me some ‘advice’. Her son had called to say that certain developments at home were disturbing him so much that they were beginning to affect his work.
And, ‘as a loving mother to her daughter’, she was advising me to submit to my husband, and support him in prayer, and not ‘drive him from home’. Men would always be men, and she was telling me ‘from experience’ that no matter how much time Martin stayed away from home, he would always come home to me.
She had been a young wife before, so she understood the challenges I was facing. So I could be assured that if I followed her advice, all would be well. And, of course, she didn’t allow me to tell my side of the story.
Martin came home very late, and very drunk. And from the next morning, he carried on as before. With some hesitation, I called my dad and told him all that had gone on.
‘Well, my daughter. I’m not going to say “I told you so”. I was only trying to protect you. So here’s what we’ll do. Continue doing the best you can, and try not to give him any excuse to harm you, but if things continue to deteriorate, I will take you back.
A couple of days later, my cousin Dinah arrived in Accra from Brussels, having completed her medical course. With Martin’s agreement, I went to Koforidua and spent a couple of days. I spent most of the time chatting about her experiences in the US, but we also discussed my relationship with Martin, and she endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if Martin’s behaviour did not change after two weeks Elaine informed Mom and Dad. We endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if there was no change in two weeks.
Dinah returned with me to Takoradi. Her plan was to spend a couple of weeks, and return to Accra to be posted. I called Paul Allotey, and asked if he would meet her for lunch and, if possible, show her some interesting spots. Delighted, he suggested that we meet at Royalty the next day.
I told Martin about it, to remove any possibility of future disagreement over ‘going out with men’.
‘It’s fine with me’, he said, ‘if, of all the people who could show your sister round this town, you chose a borla man. Doesn’t that indicate the kind of person you are?’
‘ First of all, Martin’, I’ve spoken to him a few times, and he comes across as a decent guy, so I think it is rather unfortunate that you are writing him off when you don’t know him’.
By Ekow de Heer
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