THE TIME has come for prelates of all faiths to assemble together to examine the Future of Ghana in the present. For, the politicians and the economic management teams of the Dukadaya have failed and betrayed the nation by corrupting every aspect of national life and polarising society along tribal lines. Has the Dukadaya rule, since 1992, not corrupted Our Father’s House and turned it into a den of gamblers and criminals who play roulette with the God-given natural resources and play musical chairs with the fate of Ghanaians? And I believe Faith Leaders behold, with trepidation, this state capture by the few, for the few and to the glory of the few.
There is distress and suffering in the land. Corruption, Tribalism and Sexism have infested every aspect of national life because of perfidy in the exercise of state power by the executive, legislature and judiciary. In short, these three arms of government have armed themselves in a joint-criminal enterprise to “create, loot and share” without care. The state and spate of corruption is not helped by the gaping sycophancy of their children with sharp teeth like locusts who parade the corridors of power as the fourth estate – the press and media.
The time has come for the Church, Mosque, Synagogue and the Shrine to stand up and demonstrate, in deed, that Faith Matters in nation-building and that Faith has a social purpose. The poor, the disadvantaged, the abused, the exploited, the denied and the debt-burdened are crying for redemption. Yes, redemption from the looting, opulence and arrogance of the ruling elites of the NDC and NPP (both of whom I have branded as DUKADAYA – two sides of the same counterfeit note whose value is the same). The Dukadaya have become an alienation, so insensitive to the wailings of the rest of society. The Fourth Republic has become a “family and friends” republic of A LOOTING CONTINUA.
A prosperous and flourishing Ghana cannot be built on deceit, lies, selfishness and licentiousness on the part of the leaders who govern to satisfy sectional interest instead of the national interest. For Ghana to flourish in prosperity, the Dukadaya corruption that has desecrated Our Father’s House and the inner temple must be cleansed. What Ghana needs now is a theology that is cleansing, a theology that is redeeming, a theology that is liberating. A LIBERATION THEOLGOY IS NEEDED.
Corruption is an insult to the Majesty of God and in particular executive-sponsored poverty and underdevelopment in a nation so richly endowed with natural resources. When such a situation develops it is as a result of the absence of governance and a leadership with moral compass. Governance connotes duty of care. However, in Ghana, the Dukadaya simply do not care. They only pay lip-service to “probity and accountability”. And this is what happens when governance becomes a joint-criminal enterprise.
I call on prelates of ALL FAITHS to assemble together to examine the state of Ghana in relation to the economic, social and political importance of theology in rescuing Ghana from the vice and stranglehold of the Dukadaya; for the prevailing state and spate of corruption is an affront to the Majesty of God. Our Father’s House must be cleansed of the dehumanising acts of unbridled corruption, tribalism and sexism. How can there be witch camps in Ghana where females are condemned to a life of humiliation, trauma, abuse and impoverishment while males dominate decision-making and those of the Abrahamic faiths dominate the wheels of government?
The Prelates must assemble as a matter of urgency to examine, pray and seek direction and action in a theology that is liberating in its social purpose. The prelates have a duty of care to assemble together to hold the nation together as presently there is no centre holding the nation together. Disorder is now ordering the nation. Everybody does what they like in the face of the law. Who is in charge? The Dukadaya, who “create, loot and share” without care? The Church Must Care! The Mosque Must Care! The Synagogue Must Care! The Shrine Must Care.
Faith counts. Faith matters in nation-building like loyalty and honesty. An assembly of ALL FAITHS in the name of truth and redemption is an Assembly of God’s calling. Theology is the prop of life and living. That is how the Akan faith expresses TWEDEAMMPON. The One that does not uproot when leaned on. The All Dependable that one can lean on. The Reliable One that does not fail.
Theology in instruction and praxis must be liberating.
An anecdote here would suffice: “Deep in the forest region of Sierra Leone, I recall an encounter with a fifteen-year-old armed combatant. I asked him why he had taken to arms. He held my hands and asked me to follow him, which I did. He took me to a clearing where the landscape was littered with yellow digging machines and broken down caterpillars. The rain filled craters and despoiled landscape showed an abandoned mining site. The young rebel soldier, almost in tears, explained that the area was their family farmland. Politicians from Freetown had come to hoodwink their grandfather with a thousand US dollars and a whole load of promises for access to the farm. Eventually the family was pushed off the farm for intensive alluvial mining to take place. The grandfather and father died of grief and government vigilantes (sobels) raided the area killing his mother and three siblings. He was the only one who managed to escape. He decided to join the rebels to “liberate” the land.”
Galamsey is causing a lot of grief in the forest and savannah regions of Ghana. These early warning signals and especially the despoilment of Mother Earth must not escape the attention of religious leaders. A roundtable dialogue needs to be organised for religious leaders to deliberate on their Faith and The Future of Ghana In The Present. The Call has been made and yours is to answer and spread the word in a new pastoral language of redemption and liberation.
The writer was formerly the Special Peace Envoy of International Alert. He facilitated and brokered peace between warring factions first in Liberia and then Sierra Leone to help bring both wars to an end.
BY Akyaaba Addai-Sebo
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