Herbert Mensah’s Circus & JJ’s Free-Loading

*(Dedicated to all the poor, struggling Ghanaians, especially cocoa farmers, who
can’t pay their monthly rents in spite of the fact that, unlike JJ Rawlings,
they have worked hard all their lives.)

**By Akadu Ntiriwa Mensema, Ph. D.

“[Herbert Mensah], says he funded the renovation of the current residence of
Konadu Rawlings [who] moved into the edifice, belonging to her mother, after an
inferno gutted her Ridge residence…Herbert Mensah declined to state the exact
cost of the refurbishment but said a bill has been sent to government for
reimbursement. "The entire cost of [the renovation] of that house is footed by
myself and a couple of others” (Abridged from JoyFMOnline July 11, 2010).

Even the vulture has a nest
37 Hospital bats have homes
Yet millionaire JJ doesn’t

Buffoonery tale of idiocy
Herbert Mensah paid for it all
Paid for the royal renovation
But has sent the bills to Mills
“Slow” Mills is milling for bills

Oh! Thanks to Herbert Mensah
We know one of JJ’s helpers
One of JJ’s anonymous friends
JJ’s new circus mouthpiece
Sweet tonguing for JJ
Sugar daddy in homelessness
Smitten by Sister Rawlings
Circus clown Herbert Mensah
Learn from JJ’s associates
Go to Kojo Tsikata
Seek advice from Obed Asamoah
Tell this to Akatapore, Chris Atim
JJ is using you to FIRE his hypocrisy
JJ would FIRE you like Ridge palace
Ask vulture-mouth Victor Smith

Herbert Mensah knows it all
How JJ uses his money
All salaries since 1979
JJ’s end of service benefits
JJ-ed 50-cedi notes
JJ-ed Obuasi gold bars
JJ-ed selling of factories
Nkrumah’s 30 factories
Canning Konadu in Nsawam
JJ’s gifts from dignitaries
JJ-ed free food, housing, cars
JJ-ed free education of his kids
JJ-ed free wee, matches/lighter
JJ-ed free kerosene for FIRE

Herbert Mensah tell JJ
Ordinary poor Ghanaians
Poor, poor Ghanaians
The teacher, the nurse
The police officer
The farmer, the taxi driver
Poor suffering Ghanaians
All struggle to build houses

JJ receives all his wealth
Thanks to anonymous friends
Anonymous wealthy friends
JJ’s source of free-loading life
Of his Tudu wee
Of his fleets of cars
Of his boats/ships
Of his motor cycles
Of educating his kids abroad
Of designer clothes
Of Paul Gyamfi’s hospital abroad
Of JJ’s Sogakope mansion
Of JJ’s Adjirigano palace
Of JJ’s kerosene for FIRE
All paid for by his friends
Free-loading all his life

JJ Rawlings
The agent of probity
Fighting for the poor
Mirrored in time
Mirrored in space
Yesterday and today
Acheampong was a saint
Liman was god-like
Kufour is an angel
JJ is a con man

With all his thievery wealth
JJ is complaining about poverty
Flood-victims haven’t complained
Poor kayayos don’t complain
Poor street kids don’t complain

Oh! JJ Rawlings, Yaa Konadu
You have mansions and all
Adjirigano, Sogakope, and all
Unlike millions of our street-kids
Unlike millions of poor families

Herbert Mensah
Tell JJ & Konadu
Whenever one burns a house
Like a vulture destroying its nest
It lives on and off garbage heaps
Of the Herbert Mensahs of Ghana
The garbage heap of our politics
Of dreams stolen & deferred
Elitist thieves & hypocrites
Always at the beck & call of JJ
JJ the con man, the hypocrite
The timeless freeloader

**Akadu N. Mensema, Ph. D., is a nationalist Denkyira beauty. She is a trained
oral historian cum sociologist and Professor in the USA. She lives in
Pennsylvania with her great mentor and teaches Africa-area studies at a college
in Maryland. In her pastime, she writes what critics have called “populist
hyperbolic, satirical” poetry. She can be reached at akadumensema@yahoo.com