Prophet’s Pen – Originally Published in Kingdom Insight

Commentary: Ghana’s Presidential “Chieftaincy” Dispute by Apostle Mawuetornam Dugbazah - Wednesday, January 30, 2013

“Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease” (Mishlei Shlomo/Proverbs of Solomon 22:10)

Truth is truth and cannot be hidden, because eventually, it must manifest. The truth is, anytime you see conflict among two persons or parties, it is a confirmation that someone is engaging in the foolery known in the Holy Scriptures as scorning. What is scorning? It is refusal to accept God’s spiritual truth; this is truth that shapes the evidence of factuality.

Now that Ghana and Africa are witnessing a live or “ganny-ganny” display of what I choose to call Ghana’s Presidential “chieftaincy” dispute, we can all rest assured of one thing. What is that? It’s that traditional chieftaincy is not Ghana’s main leadership problem. It is not even inherently dispute prone. Rather, Ghana’s leadership problem is truth-scorning at the family, business and national government level! Let me explain.

The Actors in the Supreme Court Ring

Weighing in at a wealthy 180 lbs, and representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in the ring we have Nanaaaaa Akufo-Addooooo!! Next, weighing in at a slightly heavier 186lbs, and representing the National Democratic Congress (NDC), we have the reigning champion of presidential election 2012...John Draaaaaamani Mahamaaaaa!! Gentlemen, you have just a few months in the Supreme Court ring. I want clean bows to the lower parts of the body only. No egos, no perjury or you may be held in contempt of court. Ding-ding!!

Okay. So sometimes I prefer satire. But you have to admit, the traditional chiefs at least didn’t incur as hefty a fee for taxpayers to watch the fight. I picked up my tickets for the last chieftaincy dispute I watched, for just GHS 2. I even got a front seat view!! But as for this presidential stuff, they wanted me to pay a hefty GHS 100!! Haaba!! And I didn’t even get good seating. Now that’s a rip off! Well, somebody has to say that democracy is too expensive. In the words of the late Sonny Okosun of Nigeria, “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” Apart from the grass suffering, in this case, the pocket books have to suffer too.

Will the Real Scorner please do the will of God?

Somebody has to be scorning in this presidential chieftaincy dispute. I am just wondering why anybody has to pay for us to find out? After all, we already know who the scorner is. It’s the politician that knows the principles of divine governance, has evidence of what is really right (the Bible), but still insists on selling Ghana out to foreign business interests.

Now that the nation has a banker as vice-president, we really need to consider the best option for the future: ban USURY in the Republic of Ghana! It is written, “Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals [food], usury of any thing that is lent upon usury” (Eleh ha Debarim/Deuteronomy 23:19). Sure, I know, we are not all Yehudim (Jews). But didn’t Yeshua [Jesus] say that we should lend to our enemies “hoping for nothing again” (Luke 6:35)? Isn’t this a Kingdom of God principle? Aren’t their numerous Ghanaians who call on the name of Yeshua? And what about the World Bank, IMF and the bilateral deals with nations like Saudi Arabia, China and others? Yeah, I thought so. If they are lending to us on interest, then they are usurers. Usurers are enemies! They practice a conniving form of legalised extortion that they recoup when our taxes go up. Don’t worry, we’ll discuss Seth Terkper’s coming “new” taxes later.

The Source of Ghana’s Contention

As in all the nation’s of the globe—Ghana is not unique—strife and contention are the result of conflict-laden persons refusing to admit the truth. This happens in our families, in our churches, in our businesses and even at the governmental level. The result of scorning God’s truth is that we perpetuate the presence of the curse. What do I mean by the curse? It is the opposite of the blessing. One comes from God and the other comes from Satan. Both, the blessing and the curse refer to an inspirational power that moves us to do either righteousness or wickedness, respectively. Lying, Satan’s prime characteristic, is the source of all conflict. We human beings must however choose to scorn truth for it to thereby usher curse-powered conflict into our midst.

So how do we get rid of the contention and strife associated with the presidential chieftaincy dispute? Well, I know one thing for sure. Hiring lawyers and battling it out in court is never the solution. I grew up watching that being done right before my very eyes and have learned that no chieftaincy dispute requires lawyers. Rather, such disputes require truth: Yahweh, the God of the ancient Hebrews kind of truth. He says that we should “cast out the scorner”.

So, who’s up for banning usury in Ghana? Perhaps we should also call a national referendum on national borrowing? Perhaps the entire government, opposition and ruling party might get some “betta” work done after that? Ding-ding!!