Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu
The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Sharubutu, has called on all Ghanaians of all faiths to tread the path of peace in the run-up to the December polls and after.
All Ghanaians should avoid the use of harsh language because raising the temperature of the country at this time was unnecessary and unwarranted.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in the aftermath of the recently completed voters’ registration exercise, he said the isolated pockets of violence which were recorded were avoidable.
As a people, he said “we should seek peaceful means of addressing misunderstandings and avoid situations which would present us as intolerable. There are sufficient mechanisms for tackling issues. The Electoral Commission (EC) has created the opportunities for aggrieved persons to challenge those they think should not be registered. For this to be avoided and violence replacing it, is not a good path,” he said.
Tolerance was an important virtue for mankind, he said, adding that we have no country but Ghana to point as our motherland and so it behooves us all as citizens to ensure our actions do not breach the laws of the land, all of which are intended to ensure decency in our lives.
He expressed gratitude to God for listening to our prayers and being with us as we went through the voters’ registration exercise, which as he put it “was accomplished with minimal incidents. May God grant us peaceful elections too in December and continue to be with us.”
We should continue to adhere to the hygiene protocols and listen to our health experts, as that was the safest way to go, he said.
The leadership of the political parties should avoid issues that would make their supporters to see each other as enemies, he said, as he pointed out that their actions as leaders would define how their supporters conducted themselves. “Intemperate language is not for the decent and so I implore politicians to avoid it in their discourses as they canvas for votes,” he said.