The annual celebration of the birthday of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (Maulud) by the National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu took place last Saturday with the Vice President highlighting the importance of interfaith harmony in society, the theme of the occasion.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Coordinator of the Zongo and Inner Cities Secretariat at the Presidency, Ben Abdallah Banda, Dr. Mahamudu who was unable to show up at the event because he was caught up in a national assignment up North, referenced the National Chief Imam’s consistent demonstration of both intra, and interfaith harmony saying that “this is not only desirable but essential for peace and stability, not only in our nation but throughout the world.”
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 16), he said, “advocates for peace and inclusive societies which is a catalyst for sustainable development,” adding “Ghana’s 1992 Constitution prohibits religious discrimination and stipulates in Article 21 (1) (c) that individuals are free to practice and profess their religion, which is significant because one major trigger of conflict and insecurity in the world today is religious intolerance and discrimination.”
Government, he continued, is committed to “maintaining and promoting peace in our country because without peace and tranquility, there cannot be development and progress. If Ghana is ranked the most peaceful country in West Africa and the second most peaceful country on the African continent by the Global Peace Index, it is because as a government, and a people, we are collectively doing many things right.”
No true religion, the Vice President said, “advocates hatred or violence, and that true faith promotes love, compassion, understanding and peaceful coexistence.”
The National Chief Imam’s life, he noted, “embodies these principles, and his dedication to building bridges between different faiths has made our nation a more harmonious and peaceful place.”
Violent extremists, he said, usually hide behind politics and religion to perpetuate violence and often times innocent people regardless of their religion, tribe or nationality are the most victimised.
Turning his attention on current global issues, he isolated climate change, environmental degradation, terrorism, conflicts, insecurity, unemployment, and diseases challenges which he said “continue to threaten the existence and the survival of humanity which, therefore, needs our focus and attention.”
Government, he said, “is committed to the continuous development of our country in the areas of infrastructure, the economy, and valued added manufacturing, highly skilled workforce, probusiness environment, stable political systems, digitalisation and technology were the foundations or countries like Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and all other developed countries across the world.”
The NPP’s policies on One District One Factory (1D1F), Free SHS, STEM schools, National Entrepreneurial and Innovation Programme, Youth in Textile, the Arabic Instructors Programme and the Zongo Development Fund which has executed over 400 projects will be the platform for Ghana’s acceleration in development, the Vice President stated.
Representing the Vice President were the Greater Accra Regional Minister Henry Quartey, Deputy Minister for Transport Alhassan Tampuli, Farouk Aliu Mahama and many others.
The efforts of organisers of the programme to prevent the grounds from being turned into a political circus fell short of expectation anyway.
Law enforcement did well by swarming the place with security personnel to deny political hangers-on from spoiling the purely religious activity.
Many fiery-looking young men were present having been ferried to the location of the event, New Fadama, their mission unknown.
The special guest speaker of the Abuja National Mosque in Nigeria, Prof. Makarfi, spoke at the event.
While he was doing so, the former President took leave of the gathering but the Greater Accra Regional Minister called the attention of the MC to the protocol breach whereupon the former Number One Gentleman sat back until the speech was exhausted.
BY A.R. Gomda