Opinions of Monday, 11 April 2005

Columnist: Okyem Duku

Confusion Don Reign Now

I borrowed the above phrase from my good friend Tunde who comes from Alata. Whenever there is any disagreement between two people, no matter how slight, he would throw his arms up in the and say ?Well, confushon don reign now. I remember the days when droves of our compatriots trooped to Alata in search of greener pastures, and when they came back home, a lot of them had strange tales about their exploits in Alata; notable amongst these tales are stories that they had introduced civilization to the Alatarians, Alatese or whatever they called them. But when I began meeting real Alatarians , I asked myself how could we ever teach these people civilization? They are very sophisticated in their ways more that we could ever be. I suggest we learn some of their good qualities namely their assertiveness, perseverance and their desire to learn new things always.

Now to confusion that is brewing in our home the impasse between president Kuffour and former president Rawling which has got a point which has prompted the Asofo to intervene and mediate; thanks to the two-paged tabloids and substandard FM stations who have discovered the name Rawlings cause newspapers to fly off shelves and also cause droves of listeners to tune in to hear the next ?boomic? vituperation from Rawlings.

When I read about the Christian Council?s desire mediate and reconcile the two Johns, I asked myself some questions and the first is this: Does President Kuffour need Rawlings at all, in order to perform his duty as the Chief Executive of Ghana? Then the next question I asked myself is this: Is it stated somewhere in our constitution that the former president and the sitting president must be friends?

I know the answer to my first question is absolutely NO! As for being friends people are free to choose who their friends are.

Rawling is one individual who is exercising his democratic right albeit in the wrong manner, so then, does this therefore not become a matter for the people who are charged with interpreting our laws and prescribing suitable corrective measure or reconciliation-that is the judiciary to deal with? So where does Christian Council fit in? I believe it time we stopped this petty interference so that government machinery can function properly. If religious leader believe that they have a moral duty to ensure relations between the past president is cordial, why didn?t they include leaders of Muslim Council? I believe that anything short of unqualified public apology from former president Rawlings to president Kuffour will not be good enough, so any plans to hold behind doors ?Monnyae m?enka? meetings should be discouraged. I do not have the slightest desire to demean or deride our august men of God but I have a feeling that this time, their efforts have been misdirected.

If we really following what our master Jesus said, then they should be seeking reconciliation for the silent majority. Jesus said in Luke 19: 10

That ?the son of man came to find lost people and save them? if want to follow him properly we should champion the cause of the poor and the lost.

Former president Rawling is well to do, he is able to buy 4 4x4 vehicles at a go, he lives in rent-free government house so is president Kuffour. The state takes care of all his expenses as a president so these are not the people that the Christian Council should worry about. There are the army of young men who are trooping daily into the cities to look for non-existent jobs:- who cannot afford to pay rent or provide themselves with three square meals- a situation which has led to the formation of meandering queues which we find outside the premises of foreign missions for visas to escape from the hardships home. The downward spiralling educational system and standards. The majority of us who don?t live in Accra and Kumasi who are being denied our fair share of the national cake in the form of development; these are the group who needs to be reconciled with.

It would be better for men of God to use their pulpits to highlight the plight of the downtrodden in the society and leave the things that belong to Caesar to be sorted out by Caesar and his company.

I hope they wouldn?t be offended by article. Thank you



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