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Mensa Otabil: Theologian, Motivational Speaker, Entrepreneur and an Icon of Pan-African thought and practical development
In life, there are few individuals whose influence is so profound that their words become guiding stars on our darkest nights. Pastor Mensa Otabil is one such individual.
Mensa Anamua Otabil (born August 31, 1959), is a theologian, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. A Fante man and he is the founder of International Central Gospel Church headquartered in Accra, Ghana. He is also the founder and Chancellor of Central University College, and CEO of Otabil and Associates, an executive and Leadership Growth Consultancy.
He currently oversees the International Central Gospel churches, which has a network of local assemblies in Ghana, Europe, the United States, Canada and other parts of Africa. He also serves as the senior pastor of Christ Temple, a ministry of the International Central Gospel Church. His work has centered on African issues, although he has spoken internationally at various conferences and churches.
Personal Life
Mensa Anamua Otabil was born on 31 August 1959 to Dinah and Lloyd Otabil who lived on Asafo Street in Sekondi, in the Western Region of Ghana. He was the 4th born and the 3rd son in a family of 7 comprising 4 boys and a girl (Effie, Kojo, Ekow, Mensa and Kofi). He married his wife, Joy, in 1986 and they currently have four children: Sompa, Nhyira, Yoofi and Baaba Aseda.
In his early years, his family moved to Baka-ekyir,(Sekondi) where he attended Anglican Primary School near Gyandu Park, Sekondi. He later enrolled in Class 2 at the Community 2 No.3 Primary & Middle School (now Mexico School) in January 1966. This was when his family moved to Tema as a result of his father’s promotion to Personnel Manager at GIHOC Boat Yard in Tema.
After passing his Common Entrance Exams, Otabil gained admission to Swedru Secondary School (SWESCO) in 1972 and completed his Ordinary Level Studies in 1977. While in Tema, he worshipped with his mother at St. Alban’s Anglican Church, Tema Community 1, and later followed her to the Assemblies of God Church in Tema Community 4. Otabil was a member of the Power House Fellowship in Tema.
His mother died in 1975, and his father in 1976. In the late 1970s, he moved to Roman Ridge and later to Kanda in Accra where he joined the Kanda fellowship. Around that time, he also gained employment with the Audio Visual Department of the Ministry of Information. It was there that he met and worked with Edwin Donkor, who was later to become a pastor at ICGC. On 26 February 1984, he started the International Central Gospel Church ministry at the Kanda Cluster of Schools, and later moved to Sal Valley School, also in the Kanda area.
He serves as General Overseer of the Church and Senior Pastor of Christ Temple, Abossey Okai in Accra. Otabil has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees for his work in various fields. He was also a recipient of a Millennium Excellence Award. In 2007, he was honoured by the Government of Ghana with a state award, Order of the Volta (Religion).
Awards and recognition
In March 2018, Otabil, with Kofi Annan and Martin Amidu made it to the list of 100 Most Reputable Africans. The list also featured individuals from diverse sectors including Leadership, Entertainment, Advocacy, Education and Business.
In 2015, Ghanaians voted him as the “Most Influential Person in Ghana”, according to a list published by ETV Ghana.
He was, in 2013, considered the twenty-fourth most influential Ghanaian, in a poll run by ETV Ghana.
Otabil has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees for his work in various fields.
He was also a recipient of a Millennium Excellence Award. In 2007, he was honoured by the Government of Ghana with a state award, Order of the Volta (Religion).
Television and radio
Otabil presents a radio and television program called Living Word where he addresses life issues such as religion, education, economic development, family life, and politics.
The program has been broadcast by several radio and television networks in Ghana.
The show also runs on Matthew Ashimolowo‘s network KICC-TV, which reaches homes across Europe and into North Africa and parts of the Middle East.
A Select Few of his Publications
Otabil has published several motivational, leadership, and devotional books:
- Buy the Future: Learning to Negotiate for a Future Better Than Your Present
- Devotional: Living Word
e-Books:
- 5 Steps to Answer Prayer
- Anointed to Start and Finish
- Goal Setting & Goal Getting
- How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
- Turning your Weakness into Strength
Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia’: Pentecostal Pan-Africanism and Ghanaian identities in the transnational domain
Rev. Mensa Otabil, the founder of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, is considered an influential representative of a new Pentecostal-inspired Pan-Africanist ideology. His book ‘Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia’ lays the foundations of a Pentecostal Liberation Theology that proclaims a Christianized sequel to Pan-Africanism. Operating from Ghana, his ideas for Africa and for ‘black consciousness’ have spread to Ghanaian migrant communities worldwide. While Otabil has been successful in transforming ownership of the intellectualist production of Pan-Africanism by tailoring it to the needs of the ordinary Pentecostal believer, it has not been adopted so extensively among all Ghanaian migrant communities in the West. By exploring Ghanaian migrant communities and their Pentecostal churches in the Netherlands, where the staunch identity politics of the Dutch government leave little room for the assertive proclamation of ‘Africanness’, this demonstrates that Otabil’s ideas do not act as a main source of inspiration everywhere in the Ghanaian diaspora. But perhaps, if Africans could tap into Dr. Otabil’s deep insights, Africans will start rising from the ashes again.
