ROPING THE CLERGY INTO THE PRESIDENTIAL HYPOCRISY?

On Friday Nov 12 2010, President Atta-Mills invited the Ghanaian Christian Clergy from various denominations to the Peduase Presidential Lodge for discussions on some ‘important’ national issues. A report from the Ghana News Agency (GNA) spelt out the following facts.

Purpose for the meeting:

• The meeting had two sessions. The first was in the open and to the hearing of all gathered. The President expressed his appreciation to the clergy and the Christian community for their participation in this year's national week of prayer and thanksgiving, as well as their prayer support.
• The second part of the meeting took place behind closed doors. According to E.T. Mensah the following issues were discussed:

1.      National Security;

2.      Intra- and Inter- Party polarization;

3.      The depravity in Moral Values;

4.      The resurgence of the politics of insults on the national scene.

According to the GNA, the meeting was opened by the Rev. Dr. Nii Amo Darko, a leading member of the Southern Baptist Convention of Ghana, the President of African Enterprise (a Christian NGO), and a member of Ghana’s Council of State. In a welcome address, he said something to this end:

 “The church has a strong role to play in nation-building. The society thrives when the family, the government and the church played their roles well”.

He also stressed the need for a stronger and effective Church and State collaboration for rapid national development. With examples from the Bible, he sited state and church collaboration that benefitted the nations and their allies. Rev. Dr. Amo Darko said there were modern examples also of nations that had benefited, when the church teamed up with the state in addressing national concerns.

The GNA report further said the following groups were present: The Christian Council of Ghana; the Catholic Bishops' Conference; the Ghana Pentecostal Council; the Charismatic Christian Association and the Independent Churches Association of Ghana.

They were represented by the following: Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong-Manso, outgoing Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana; the Rev. Dr. Fred Deegbe, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana; the Rev Dr Seth Ablorh of the Manna Mission, the Rev. Dr. Robert Ampiah-Kwofie of the Global Revival Ministries; Archbishop Duncan Williams of the Action Faith Ministries; the Rev. Dr. Christie Doe-Tetteh of Solid Rock Chapel International; and the Rev. Tackie Yarboi of the Victory Bible Church.

According to Mr Koku Anyidoho, Head of Communications at the Office of the President, the President impressed on the clergy to continue being the conscience of the nation and let their voices be heard on national issues.

Since this ‘Peduase Summit’, we have heard some of the participating clergymen point to the following causes for the moral degeneration, the deteriorating security situation, the very high levels of the use of insulting language in our public life, and the turmoil within our body politic:

• The take over of our public schools from the control of the churches by the government;
• The removal of moral and religious teaching from the  curricula of our schools ;
•  That the ages of the armed and highway robbers fall within the early twenties - and that affirms the above two stated causes.

As a Prophet, and a clergyman, I also want my views to be heard by the President, the Christian community, and all fellow countrymen, as to why the present situation may be prevailing in the country. First of all permit me to lay the following foundations:

1. What is happening in Ghana may be nothing different from what is happening in other nations. This is because of the fact that all of us humans have forsaken our God. We have rejected HIS laws and commandments. We love doing the wrong instead of the right;
2. Nations are mandated by God to institute human governments to make laws to regulate our societies. The laws must be such as to uphold the dignity of the human person and promote decency in society. The law-abiding must go about their duties without fear of intimidation and unjust punishment. The lawless must be resisted: Arrested, tried, punished and wherever possible, be taken through a system of reformation whiles under punishment;
3. The Christian Church, if alive and well in a state, is mandated to preach and teach God’s Word (the Bible) with the intention of transforming people from within. The Church also helps the citizenry to recognize that the human person has a capacity to live forever; and that this could only be achieved through the ‘Acceptance of Jesus Christ as one’s LORD and Savior’. This makes the Church the most important partner to government in morally sanitizing the state.Please understand that in a multi-religious (pluralistic) state, there is ‘freedom of worship’ – there may therefore be differing approaches to the stated ends. And this makes it absolutely imperative that the State and the Church are kept separate.  
4. Through a transparent system of taxation, the state raises resources to create institutions, systems and programs to lay the turf for each individual to ‘play his/her game’ to the delight and benefit of the community. Every law-abiding citizen must be made to feel that ‘he/she belongs, is needed, and appreciated’. There must be a social contract to make ‘each a neighbor’s keeper’.
5. The state also becomes the means through which an individual interacts with the rest of the world. The state acting through her government ‘slugs it out with other nations in the international market place’ to ensure that equity is assured in global transactions, to the benefit of the citizens.

In the light of the foregoing, I may want to add the following ‘suggestions’ to those made by the honorable clergy who were privileged to meet with the President:

• Any society that fails to punish known criminals; but pretends that such criminals are national heroes, will ultimately elevate crime to the level of an ‘honest pursuit’ – and her youth will ‘go for it’. “Woe unto the nation whose heroes are glorified criminals”.
•  If there were any competition about the ‘Capacity to Spew Insults’ (CSI); the champions will certainly be some of the highest placed politicians – including those who bear the titles of Presidents, Ministers of State, Parliamentarians, etc. (and we unashamedly refer to them as Honorable, His Excellency, etc.)
• If our politicians are calling their opponents: Thieves, Criminals, Cocaine Dealers, Drug Addicts, Sexual Perverts and Immoral; what do you expect the youth to do?
• The sitting President is doing everything to lift up the name of Kwame Nkrumah to such heights that, many Ghanaians feel justifiably angered by it. What else is he going to name after Kwame Nkrumah? Nkrumah definitely has a pride of place in our history (but what the President is doing is completely out of balance and decency). There are several other Ghanaians who deserve some honor. And then he hypocritically turns around and says ‘the nation is polarized’. What a shame?This President has publicly said that: “He cannot work with those who do not share his political philosophy”. He made this statement at a Press Conference at the Castle early in his reign.He has ordered his District Chief Executives (DCEs) to give preferential treatment to NDC supporters who come to them for job placements (whenever there are any such slots).This President has not said a word about the shameful manner Nana Akuffo Addo was treated at Cape Coast during the Fetu Afashye (initiated in his presence by Nii Lante Vanderpure- an appointee of his).
• When a whole President points to his opponents as those behind everyday crimes, this is outrageous. This is criminal and highly unbecoming of a Law Professor who also claims to be a godly man.

The Prophet’s Counsel

The story of Ahab, Jeshoshaphat, the 400 false Prophets and the Prophet Micaiah is told in I Kings 22: 1-40. The King Ahab managed through sleight, craftiness, inducements and pretense to hoodwink 400 Prophets to sing to his praise and unholy agenda. The Prophet Micaiah decided to tell the truth, and he suffered persecution for this. In the final analysis however Ahab allowed the false prophets to lure him to an ignominious defeat and death. I pray and hope that my very honorable colleagues spoke the truth to the President. If they did not, it is not late yet. It is an honorable thing to tell truth, especially to leaders who need to be so told!

Doubtlessly most of these problems predated you. You did not create them. But it seems they are getting worse under you - your high and boastful promises not withstanding.

You and your supporters bragged too much about your ‘holiness and ability to miraculously transform Ghana into a moral cauldron’.

Mr. President, some of us are getting worried about your style of leadership- it does not look good at all. And yet we know that you can do better. Please redeem your name – and do it now. You may not be better than any of those who have gone before you or are coming after you. Get real and play your part!!!

Prophet Micaiah
prophetmicaiah@gmail.com ;
http://prophetmicaiah.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001686510117

       

    

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THIS GAME? PART 2: THE SAGA OF AMINA!!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THIS GAME? PART ONE

SCENE ONE:
DATE: JANUARY 7, 2009

President Atta-Mills is sworn into office as the successor to President Kufour. In his maiden Presidential speech, he promised:
“No Ghanaian should live in fear of armed robbery. Many of our people cannot move around for fear that somebody would attack them. Improvement in internal security would therefore be one of our top priorities”.
With so many other words, the President meant that his leadership was going to usher in a near corruption-free; armed-robbery-free; criminal-free society.

Then he takes up office and begins to attack his Agenda-Asomdwee-Better-Ghana. The armed robbers straight away set out to challenge his resolve. The police went after them. The front-pages of our newspapers were daily littered with dead bodies of armed-robbers. The police seemed to have acquired additional powers- unspoken and unwritten: “Chase the armed robbers; if you have to shoot- just make sure it’s a knock-out shot, and not a knock-down one. You have become: Arresting Officers, Prosecutors, Attorneys, Judges and Executioners!” (Just thinking out loud- definitely not meant to cause fear and panic)
At least on one occasion the IGP and some of his top lieutenants were at the Castle to receive the enviable ‘Asomdwee-pat’ on their shoulders and the ‘Hallelujah Praise’- they had done a good job of ‘finishing’ the armed robbers

Whiles some of the populace welcomed this development, a minority felt that ‘instant justice and a shoot-to-kill policy’ could endanger the lives of the very citizens this policy has set off to protect. This group felt the Police could aim their bullets at ‘non-fatal’ portions of the bodies of the robbers; so that they could rather be arrested and taken through the court processes. After thoroughly fair trials- establishing their guilt beyond any reasonable doubts (and all legal appeals dealt with) - they should then be led to the stakes, to receive just recompenses for what they set out to do to others. This is an essential part of the “Rule of Law”.

It seems our Heads of State and Presidents, since 1986, have ‘vowed’ not to effect the death sentence. If the Police could do it for them- under the pretext of self-defense- that was their preferred option. If former President Rawlings, a military man, chose this option sometime during his nineteen-year reign; it is absolutely mind-boggling for an Oxford-Trained Lawyer and a Professor of Constitutional Law to acquiesce to this same crude and unwritten policy of ‘shoot-and-kill’ as a first option of taming armed robbery.

The robberies were somehow reduced for a season. But then the robbers began popping up from all kinds of places. They have become viler and grossly barbaric with their demands on their victims. They will not only rob them of their wealth and belongings; but sometimes humiliate them through sexual demands; and even ask their victims to do same amongst themselves. Though the police continue to assure us that the crime rate is coming down; the quality of the ‘fewer’ crimes are so chilling that, the feeling of insecurity may have rather accentuated. Two Pastors of the same church were attacked and shot at different times. One died, the other is still undergoing treatment. At the trial of the three young-men who attacked the Pastor who died; the three rather young robbers cried out “Kill us now’.

SCENE TWO:

The Ghana Police are the main actors in this scene. The police PRO, Kwesi Fori, served in this same position during Kufours regime. He kept telling Ghanaians at the time that: “The police are on top of the crime wave. We are equipped and ready to take on the criminals whoever they are and wherever they are”. He was at post when cocaine stored at the Police Headquarters mysteriously metamorphosed into “kokonte”. Under the new President, Kwesi Fori keeps telling Ghanaians how the Police force is now even in “better-charge” of the situation. He was questioned as to what may have contributed to the new image of the “Better-Ghana-induced-Status”.  His answer? - Yours maybe as good as mine! He is quite a colorful personality though!

The Asomdweehene’s government decided to embark on some housing scheme for the general public, the Police and other security agencies. This has famously become known as the STX Korean Housing Scheme. The government claimed it was entering into contracts with the STX Company that will fetch 200,000 ‘Affordable Houses’ that were going to cost Ghanaians $10 billion. Professionals and other concerned citizens felt that the average cost of $50,000 per house had nothing to do with ‘affordability’. The other difficulty was that this average cost did not include the land, and all the ground infrastructure and utilities that ‘must be provided by the Government and people of Ghana’. These additions could increase the average cost to over $60,000. These calculations obviously led to the raising of concerns by the Opposition NPP (and some other minority opposition elements), and GREDA, the professional association of real estate developers. GREDA submitted estimates that could build the houses at far cheaper prices.
The government Propaganda Machinery then turned around to the Police and told them: “Police men and Military men; the NPP does not want you to get good housing”. As a result of this, Policemen were commandeered to the Parliament House on the last day of the debate on the STX Loan Approval- probably to ‘intimidate’ the NPP members and others in the chamber who had raised very legitimate concerns.

The previous government initiated what they called the Single Spine Salary Structure, meant to streamline the Payroll of all under her employ. The Police seemed to have benefited a lot from this. Since the NDC Government implemented this policy, the Police heaped lots of praises on the President and his men. So to some extent the Police want to do ‘everything’ to prove to the Presidency that they are appreciative of their new-found ‘high standards’. This is the background of Scene Three.

SCENE THREE

Recently there was a young lady on one of the numerous FM stations- Adom. She narrated to the ‘shock’ of Ghanaians what she and some travelers had been taken through by a gang of robbers on a journey from Accra to the North, via Kumasi. The gang of robbers asked all the passengers to strip themselves naked; and pair up (male-to-female); and have sex together at gun point. A man was forced to sleep with his 14 year old first-year student (who was also a virgin). According to the lady who narrated the story; all the passengers agreed that what had happened to them was so humiliating that, they should all keep it a secret. They sat in the bus and went to report to the police that they had been attacked by armed robbers who had shot at the bus and broken the windscreen. The Police recorded this and gave the necessary Police Report to the driver.

The lady, on her return to Accra narrated the events to a male friend who felt the story must be told to a radio station, contrary to the agreement of the victims. The lady was invited by other radio stations to testify. This got to the President, and in his characteristic ‘Better Ghana’ spirit, summoned the leadership of the Police Force to the Castle. This is the beginning of the Saga of Amina Mohammed (for this is the name of the lady who narrated the ‘secret’ to the radio stations). This is the unfolding of a story that the Fantes may call “Bisi Bisi Baasaaa”.  A holy-father-crime-busting-asomdweehene-humble-Nkrumaist-Pesident; teaming up with- an obedient-grateful-hardworking-never-do-wrong-new-Better-Ghana-Police-Service, ‘heavily drunk’ on the Single-Spine Wine – on one hand; against a young lady, mother of three-young-children- and a branded ‘dangerous woman with a dangerous hoax, calculated to bring Ghana to international shame and ridicule- with the ultimate objective of driving away investors- on the other hand!

Friends, stay tuned. These are interesting times in Ghana. Our Professor of Constitutional Law is fully in charge of the Saddle-of-State. He ceases every opportunity to let us know that: “Whether you like it or not, I am the only President of Ghana”. Do not miss Part Two next week!

THE PROPHET’S COUNSEL
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 (New Living Translation)
⁴ When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. ⁵ It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.

Even Jesus Christ had in his team of twelve, Judas, who finally betrayed him. Judas was supposed to have had some demons and was also a thief. He kept the purse for Jesus- and he made sure he lived well from it- whether Jesus sanctioned it or not. Uncle Asomdwee may have some competences and skills that ‘even Christ did not have’. All the developed countries have their fair share of armed robberies, grand crimes, petty thievery, and all sorts of socially deviant activities. So maybe Uncle Atta has some tricks the whole world can benefit from. Uncle Atta- go for it; please do not mind anyone- they are all jealous!
God richly bless you all

Prophet Micaiah
prophetmicaiah@gmail.com ;
http://prophetmicaiah.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001686510117