Professor Dr. Otchere Addai Mensah, former CEO of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital has opened up about the extraordinary circumstances surrounding his birth and upbringing.
His story sheds light on complex family dynamics, societal pressures, and the resilience that shaped his path to success.
Prof. Addai Mensah recounted how his father, a married man, initially wanted to abort him when his mother was pregnant. At the time, his mother was just 21 years old, a student at the Polytechnic, and considered a “side chick.” She had already undergone four abortions before carrying Prof. Addai Mensah to term.
“My mother was pregnant with me, and my father gave 2 cedis to abort the pregnancy,” he revealed.
“He{My father} later learned that the abortion was not carried out. That’s where my woes started, my mom had to use the 2 cedis to take care of herself and the unborn baby. It was quite challenging for her, having to spend the money he had gotten from the sale of her clothes and jewelry at every point”, he added.
He explained that his father’s decision was influenced by the fact that his wife was also pregnant, forcing him to choose between the two pregnancies.
“But I don’t blame my dad so much on that score; it’s essentially because I later came to know that his wife was also pregnant, so faced with a choice, that’s the decision he took.”
In a deeply personal and emotional interview on the BKB podcast monitored by Kumasimail, Prof. Addai Mensah stated that growing up, he faced emotional neglect from his father, who openly favored his legitimate children.
He shared a touching memory from his National Service days despite being given letter to teach core science and elective chemistry at Prempeh College, his father ignored him publicly, even while helping others change their postings.
“I remember during my National Service, I was posted to Upper West, and Prempeh College had given me a letter saying that they wanted me to come and teach core science and elective chemistry. I went there from morning to evening. My father came there, saw me, and said, ‘Yaw, how are you?’ and I responded, ‘Good’ but he walked away. It was painful. He had gone to change people’s postings for them. So, I stood there for a while, and a man called Cennel, who was the director of Kumasi Metro, came around 4:30 pm. He said, ‘you have been here for a long time,’ and he changed it for me,’” he said.
He also recalled a moment when his father, responsible for managing the Kotoko under-20 football team, mentioned all his children except him during a song request, leaving the room silent.
“I was watching TV, and my dad was responsible for Kotoko Under-20. Isaac Kwakye, Joe Debrah, and Michael Osei were his boys. He was asked to request a song for his children, and I was with my friends, who all knew he was my dad. He started mentioning his children’s names without mentioning me, and the room I was in became quiet.”
Prof. Addai Mensah credits his strong church upbringing and relentless dedication to education as key factors that helped him navigate the challenges of his early life.
“I believe that my church life, to a large extent, emanated from that angel. Our system is such that when things like this happen, your resort is to religion. It helped because I prayed as if my whole life depended on prayer, and I studied hard as if my whole life depended on studying hard”, he emphasized.
Prof Addai Mensah motivation was partly driven by a desire to avoid making his mother sad and his father happy through failure.
“This gave me a certain balance because, somehow, I thought that if I didn’t do well, my father would be happy and my mother would be sad-and I didn’t want him to be happy,” he noted.
According to Prof Addai Mensah, years later, after he had completed medical school, his father attempted to mend their fractured relationship.
“He came home accompanied by Owusu Ansah, a former regional minister and close friend, along with two others, to reconcile. “I asked them, ‘Why now?’ because this had been known all along,” he recalled.
Source: www.kumasimail.com /Kwadwo Owusu
