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The Prophet part 6
Mary picked up the phone after it had rung the fifth time. It was Suzzie.
“Are you still sleeping, Mary? I told you we should be at his place before five.”
“I’m ready. I was in Betty’s room.”
“I hope she wasn’t preaching another long sermon. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“It was very short, but one that we need to discuss. I’m waiting for you.”
Within some 30 minutes they had approached Antubam’s compound.
“Now,” Suzzie said, “you don’t have to say anything if you are confused. Just leave the talking to me. We need to make as much money as possible from this thief in the next few days, and leave. I’m sure he will buy all the suggestions, and give us the money. We should make good profit from these transactions, trust me.”
They entered the compound, just as Antubam was leading Abena Grace out of his room.
“Good morning, Osofo,” Mary said.
‘Hello, my beautiful ladies. I hope you are well, and I hope everything is okay.”
“Everything is fine, Osofo.”
“Please give me just a few minutes’. He led Abena Grace to the street, and was there for over 20 minutes to get back, obviously due to the difficulty of getting a taxi for her.”
“Osofo,” Suzzie began, we would like to make some suggestions about things that need to be done, since the church is now growing impressively. We have listed a few things, and we would like you to consider them in order of priority.”
“I am so grateful to you, Suzzie and Mary, for your support. I really appreciate your help in securing the bank account, and your honesty. My only worry is that even though you are supposed to be my wives, you are yet to fulfill your duties in the most important department. I hope you are not feeling jealous because of those, er, ladies.”
“Of course not, Osofo. We accept the fact that the demands of your work are very heavy, and you need something to relax your mind and body. Please be assured that when we get everything fully established, we will take very good care of you, especially when we travel with you to preach on radio stations in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi.”
“That sounds very interesting. Now, let me hear your ideas, especially about the radio stations.”
“Osofo, your church is expanding at a fast rate, and you need to move into a decent house all by yourself, which is comfortable and spacious enough for your status, and for the kind of visitors you will soon be entertaining. And of course, we must furnish the house.
We must also, as a temporary measure, buy some decent chairs for the church, and make some temporary structures to make the place look attractive. And Osofo, you must buy a car in the next few weeks. Apart from your new status, you will be travelling widely soon, and you must…….” All these sounded like music in his ears.
“Thank, you, Suzzie, thank you so much. You know, I have thought of all these, but quite frankly, there simply is no time. Why don’t you make a list of these items, and get some prices, so that we get them done as quickly as possible. And let’s start work on them today. If we make some money available every day or two, we should get them done in good time,”
“We have done, exactly that, Osofo. Here you are.”
“Great. Look, I’ll leave this with you. I already trust you for the way you have started running things. Let’s start after church today, shall we?”
“Okay, Osofo. We’ll do some cleaning and cooking whilst you get ready for church.”
“Thank you ladies. And I am looking forward to spending enjoyable evenings with you.”
“We are also looking forward to it, man of God.”
“Now,” Suzzie said after Antubam had gone to the bathroom, “let’s clean the place and cook something for this dirty thief who thinks we will ever allow him to touch us.”
“You obviously dislike him,” Mary said, but you like his money.”
“We are only charging him unofficially for our services. Our charges are high because he himself is a thief. And of course, very soon we will be leaving, so our charges have to be high. By the time we finish these assignments, Mary, we will be comfortable.”
The service followed the same pattern as previous days. There were many testimonies of financial and health miracles, and after preaching another short sermon, Antubam sat down for consultations.
Whilst he gave ‘directions’ to his clients, Mary and Suzzie counted the money. In the course of consultations, he selected two attractive ladies to go the ‘mission house’ with him. After the last client had left, he came to meet the two ladies, all smiles.
“You will be pleased to hear, my beautiful ladies that two ladies who came for directions before travelling to Europe have sent someone to give thanks for the success of their business, and have given an offering of ten thousand dollars, so we can make a good start with our plans straightaway. So I want you to change this and get going.”
“That’s great, Osofo. We’ll do that. Today’s offerings came to four thousand cedis. We’ll pay that into the account.”
“There’s another four thousand cedis here. Please add that.”
“Okay, Osofo. We’ll call you and give you some feedback.”
“I’ll be expecting your call. Take GH¢100 for lunch and transport.”
“Suzzie,” Mary asked as they left the church, ‘what kind of business are those two ladies doing, which has been so profitable that within two days of landing in Europe, they have brought an offering of GH¢2,000?”
“Do you need me to tell you? We shouldn’t hang around this Antubam man for long, Mary.”
By the close of day the two friends had concluded arrangements with a landlord, and furniture and home appliances supplier. They had also made part payment for a smart ‘home secondhand’ saloon car.
Finally, they had called and concluded arrangements for an initial two-week, early morning broadcast on Echo FM. For their efforts, they had put away a cool five thousand cedis for themselves. The car dealer drove them to Antubam’s place, and Suzzie knocked on his door. He came out after some20 minutes, and, seeing the car, almost collapsed with joy. The ladies gave him the other news.
“Osofo,” Suzzie reminded him, “we will make arrangements for the chairs and other stuff for the church in the next couple of days, if funds are available.
All that is left for now is an outstanding amount of GH¢4,500 to be given to the dealer here, Mr Amoako. He has agreed that we make payment in two weeks.”
“Wait a minute!” he roared. “I think I can get it now.” He went in and came back with the amount.”
“Okay then, Osofo. We’ll see you at church as usual.”
“Okay, my beautiful ladies. Remind me to make some money available for the church fittings. And as for this weekend, we must spend some enjoyable time together, especially as we now have a car at our disposal.”
“We’ll be looking forward to it.”
By Ekow de Heer
Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
