- following success of her first book, ‘The Christian Woman’
Rt. Rev. Mrs. Patricia Sappor, immediate past president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB), has launched her second book titled ‘Creating Wealth and Enjoying It’.
The book, which is inspired by very personal encounters with individuals and organisations, seeks to provide in-depth knowledge to readers, including persons without finance backgrounds, regarding the application of critical wealth-creation principles to improve their financial lives.
Speaking at the launch, which took place on Saturday, August 13 at the auditorium of Action Chapel International in Accra, Rt. Rev. Mrs. Patricia Sappor – who is the Past Regional Head of Corporate Communications at Ecobank Anglophone West Africa (AWA), observed that many individuals often end up in financial crises because of inadequate knowledge on how to effectively create and manage wealth.
She said the book will not only serve as a guide for every individual but also draw attention to the importance of wealth-creation, as it highlights personal experiences and underscores the fact that clean wealth can be created using biblical principles.
“This book, ‘Creating Wealth and Enjoying It’, was birthed out of my continuous interest and desire to share the wealth of knowledge I have gained about wealth-creation. It is also based on some financial lessons I have learnt over the years and observations made on the lives of other people. In my life’s journey, both personal and corporate, I have learnt some interesting lessons and also observed the various lifestyle changes of different categories of people due to some choices and decisions they made about their finances,” she said.
Mrs. Sappor, using a scripture, stated that just being a Christian does not guarantee financial success, but following the right biblical principles is an empirical tool on which anyone can rely in their wealth-creation efforts.
“2nd Kings 4: 1-2 reads: A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying: ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves’. From the above scripture, it is very clear that ‘fearing God’ alone will not make you rich nor keep you away from debt; but acting and applying the principles of financial planning as prescribed by God Himself will make a difference in your financial life,” she said.
Founder and General Overseer of United Denomination of Action Churches (UDAC) and NDW Ministries, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams who launched the book, said it is critical to always share personal experiences and knowledge in order to enrich and deepen readers’ experiences.
“A new generation will rise up to enter the fields of politics, diplomacy and other business, and it could take them many years to learn the skills required to build their capacity to become better in these fields; and when the time comes to pass the baton to the next generations, they will die and go to the grave with all the knowledge they have accumulated. There is a lot of knowledge in the grave which never had the opportunity to be institutionalised as we are witnessing today.”
He believes the time has come for Africa to change the narrative by telling the story in its own unique way. This, he claims, is possible if people seize the opportunity to share their experiences and knowledge with the rest of the world.
“One thing about Africa is that we have refused to tell our stories and left it for others to tell those stories. I believe that one thing we as Africans need to do is to define ourselves and tell our stories the way we want to; it is high time we changed the narrative,” he urged. Speaking as the event’s chairperson, Mrs. Elsie Addo Awadzi – Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), praised the author for completing and launching her second book: emphasising that the new book is not only filled with sound financial principles but also real-life experiences which serve as a guide to achieving financial freedom and improving financial security for all.
“Writing a book is not an easy ride. Many dream of doing so but it takes a lot of guts, commitment and discipline to get it all out on the production line, and I must congratulate you for making this book project a reality. The principles for creating wealth can fill a whole book, as can the principles for maintaining and enjoying wealth, but she manages to combine them all in one book and the result is a real powerhouse of wisdom.” She stated that the set of values which underpin the book are a clarion call for all to reconsider the values that will help the nation grow in the right direction.
“What struck me is that it is not only a book about money but also one about values underpinning wealth-creation, some of which are no longer respected today. This book serves as a wake-up call for us to return to those values in order to create sustainable wealth as individuals, families and organisations, so that together we can build a strong nation,” she said.
Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, reiterated that the book arrived on time to meet the needs of all individuals in terms of financial freedom.
“If you want to be successful, you must put in place certain mechanisms. I believe that achieving financial independence and how to do so has a lot to do with the knowledge or information that will guide you, which is why this book appeals to me.” Creating more financial awareness and improving financial literacy is one of the goals we have as an institution, and I believe this book is just on time to complement what we do,” he said.
President of Accra Business School, Bishop Titi-Ofei, also stated that the youth should acquire the book to guide their progress in life. He congratulated Mrs. Sappor on her excellent book and hoped that more experts in other fields will publish books to aid Ghana’s development.
