Former Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah, has humorously expressed that he doesn’t take the topic of side chicks lightly, as it ties closely to his own life story.
In a candid interview, the professor shared that he was born to a young woman who, at the age of 21, became pregnant by a married man. With a touch of humor, he noted that he owes his existence to side chicks, emphasizing, “I wouldn’t be here if not for them.”
“On a lighter note, I don’t joke with side chicks at all. If there were no side chicks, I wouldn’t have been in this world. On a more serious note, my mother was just 21 when she gave birth to me. She was a student at the polytechnic. She was a side chick pregnant for a very married man. She had had four abortions before me, and I was the fifth. My father wanted me aborted, so he gave her GH₵2.00 at the time to terminate the pregnancy.”
Prof Otchere Addai-Mensah an Associate Professor of Haematology, Immunology, and Global Health in the Department of Medical Diagnostics at KNUST surprisingly said he could understand why his father wanted the abortion.
“I don’t blame my father too much for that decision, especially after learning that his wife was also pregnant at the time. He was faced with a difficult choice, and that was the decision he took. A couple of weeks later, he learned that the abortion had not been carried out. That was when my mother’s struggles truly began. My father told her to use the GH₵2.00 to cater for herself and the unborn baby.”
He recounted how his mother had to sacrifice to raise him:
“It was quite challenging for my mum. She had to sell her cloth and jewelry to make ends meet. Thankfully, she worked at SSNIT for 38 years, and SSNIT pays well, so I was able to go through school.”
Prof Otchere Addai-Mensah shared how difficult it was growing up without his father’s support:
“It was tough growing up. There were moments when it was clear this man was my father he gave money to others but denied me the same. I remember during national service, I was posted to Wa, but Prempeh College had offered me a teaching opportunity. When I went to the National Service Secretariat to change my posting, my father came there to help others change theirs. He saw me and only asked how I was before leaving without offering any help. I stood there until almost 5 p.m., after which an influential man helped me change my posting. I met that man recently in Abetifi and gave him all the money I had on me because of how much he helped me back then.”
“I also recall sitting with friends when my father appeared on TV. He was asked to request a song for his children, and he mentioned all their names but left mine out. That really hurt, especially being among friends who knew who he was.”
Prof Otchere Addai-Mensah explained what motivated him to excel academically:
“I prayed like my whole life depended on it, and I studied like my whole life depended on studying. That gave me a certain balance. Somehow, I felt that if I failed, my father would be happy and I didn’t want that. So, I studied hard and aspired to become someone great.”
Eventually, his father returned to seek forgiveness:
“He later came to apologize with some influential friends of his. But by then, I had already finished medical school. I asked them, ‘Why now?’ because they had known about me for a long time.”
