In 2016, General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Rev. Mensah Otabil, expressed deep concern over the severe hardships plaguing the country at that time.
He lamented that citizens were experiencing difficult circumstances in every aspect of their lives due to the unstable Ghanaian economy.
“I believe that we are living in tough times in Ghana. Ghana is hard and that is not a political statement. It’s a statement of reality that people are going through very difficult circumstances in their private lives, in their businesses, and people are struggling with certain necessities of life and sometimes when you go through these tough times, you need encouragement. So, I am bringing you a word in that direction, and I trust that at the end of this service, something in you will lift you up. Sometimes, when you look at life in this country, you feel as if not only is life hard, but we want to make it impossible for us to live our life. I was telling my wife yesterday, I said: ‘We are not nice to ourselves. Ghana is not nice to itself, let’s treat ourselves well; just make life better for ourselves, but it looks like there is a deliberate effort to keep you down and subservient and to make you never lift up your head…’” Dr Otabil lamented during church service.
The difficulties notwithstanding, Dr Otabil added:“You are going to win and that is not a political statement either, but you are going to win. In Ghana now, everything is politics, you know. You say: ‘You’re going to win’ and they say: ‘Which party is Otabil talking about?’ I say you as an individual, as a person, you will win in life, you will win in your marriage, you’ll win in your business, you’ll not be a disgrace, you’ll not be a disappointment, you’ll not be cast out, you are coming from below, you’re coming from
behind, you’re coming from beyond, but you’ll win it. Your branches will run over the wall.
“The economy of Ghana may not change; I have no control over that. The guys messing it up, that’s their problem, they have to fix it, but I’m here to tell you that no matter the walls, no matter the mess, no matter the difficulty, people may collapse all around you, people may not survive the arrow, people may not survive the wars, but you will win this one, I said you will win this one. Somebody will say: ‘Pastor how will I win?’ I don’t know. I don’t know how Joseph won,” he continued.