By John W. Kennedy – John Dramani Mahama, president of Ghana since 2012, greeted attendees Thursday night at the kickoff of the Assemblies of God Centennial Celebration at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri.
The congenial Mahama, calling himself a onetime nominal Presbyterian who is now a committed member of the Assemblies of God, said he accepted an invitation to attend the global gathering because of a “happy coincidence.”
Mahama flew to Springfield following the conclusion of a first-of-its-kind three-day trade and security summit in Washington, D.C., hosted by President Barack Obama with leaders from 50 African nations. Since March, Mahama has been chairman of Economic Community of West African States.
On Tuesday, Mahama signed a $498 million compact with the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation, designed to invest in greater energy efficiency in Ghana, a nation of 24.7 million people. The compact marks the largest U.S. transaction under the Obama administration’s Power Africa initiative. Tuesday night, Mahama and his wife, Lordina, dined at the White House with President and Mrs. Obama.
At the start of the AG Centennial, Mahama, wearing all white and accompanied by Secret Service agents, recounted how he for years dropped his spiritually minded wife and children off for services at an AG church while he engaged in non-church activities. He said the pastor met him one day after services and explained the rest of his family eventually would be dropped off at the gates of heaven but Mahama would be locked out. He began attending church regularly after that.
Mahama said his faith gives him comfort and confidence in a stressful job as he knows God guides his steps. He said he appreciates the backing of AG members, and he considers his ascension to the highest office in the land the exclusive work of Almighty God.
“The world is becoming a very dangerous place,” Mahama said. “All sorts of fundamentalist groups threaten freedoms and liberties of nations. Working together as a global alliance we can block it.”
According to a 2010 census, 72.1 percent of Ghanaians are Christian, with 28.3 percent of the population self-identifying as Pentecostals. The AG has more than 1.9 million members and adherents.
Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African nation to peacefully attain European independence in 1957. Mahama, 55, is the first Ghanaian leader born since the country gained independence. Ghana is considered a model of democracy on the often-turbulent continent.
