“Whatever games are played with us, we must play no games with ourselves”- Ralph waldo Emerson
The truth is that old Sodomy Laws have been in our status books since 1960, but they are not being implemented because we took things for granted. Another truth is that no Parliament in this 4th Republic has ever passed a law banning this madness. Laws must be enacted by Parliament and our law enforcement bodies must be seen to be acting according to the law. Simplista!
The lady who arrived on the shores of Ghana with her husband and proudly introduced him to Ghanaians said she was worried about our stand on LGBTQ. That statement of the lady was in the first place pregnant with contradiction, having proved to us in the first place that she is married to a man but not her fellow woman.
In reply, President Akufo Addo, a democrat and a legal brain for that matter said substantial draconian anti LGBTQ legislation has been considered by his government and tabled in Parliament for consideration. He continued that the country is in a democratic dispensation so he has not got the single authority to decide on such issue for Ghanaians since it is the duty of our Parliamentarians who represent their constituencies to decide. It is after Parliament has taken a decision against LGBTQ that he, as the President will assent.
What Ghanaians should remember is that our President was once the Foreign Minister of Ghana and he knows the nitty-gritty of diplomacy. It is now up to Parliament to prove to Ghanaians that they too abhor LGBTQ and stop the populist talk. The debate now should be shifted to Parliament House. We must insist that when it comes to voting on the issue, it should not be done through secret balloting. By now, every Ghanaian from both political divide knows very well that some of our Parliamentarians are not trustworthy and treacherous. We must see our MPs raise their hands for or against the issue. And it must be broadcast live for all of us to see. If our Parliamentarians enact a Law banning LGBTQ, the ball will go back to the court of the President to assent and I sincerely believe our President will never hesitate to do so.
As for former President Mahama, he even invited his best friend, Mr. Edward Solomon, who is gay and who campaigned all over the world for the acceptance of Gay marriages to Ghana to launch his book titled: ”My First Coup de Etat”. Mr. Mahama never mentioned the issue of LGBTQ to the guy because he knew the guy is ‘damn’ rich and very influential in the US. His silence and the mere fact that he had the effrontery and guts to invite the guy to Ghana encouraged homosexuals in Ghana. Even when his own Deputy Minister, John Jinapor denied that the man was not the friend of John Mahama, the former President shamed his own man by coming out quickly to tell Ghanaians that Edward Solomon was indeed, his best friend. Money? Hmmm!.
When Sam George tabled that Private Members motion in Parliament against LGBTQ, I started to love him again. Listen to him: “When the Bill is laid before Parliament, you will realize that the focus of the Bill which has to do with voiding gay marriages, preventing them from adopting children or fostering children, clampdown on platforms of the media houses that are going to do promotion and advocacy or push those materials still remain enforced” How brilliant and bold! I doff my hat for the guy. If he continues like this and stops his infantile boisterous polemics, the sky will be his limit in politics.
People should not think that this fight belongs to the President alone. It is civilization’s fight. It is a fight for those who believe in human dignity and the fear of the wrath of God. A time will come when the security services will be called to duty to arrest these LGBTQ people and another time will come when judges in our courts too will be called to duty to deliver justice. As for we the ordinary Ghanaians, our duty will be watchdogs, reporting suspected LGBTQ guys to the police and recording media houses that propagate this sin. Our pastors and Imams too have a role to play. They must use at least five minutes of their preaching time to speak against this menace on daily basis. How can you preach salvation when the wrath of God is about to strike like He did to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? There are enough quotations in both the Holy Quran and Holy Bible to support their preaching against LGBTQ.
As for me, I have already ordered for more bottles of ink to fill my Fountain pen for the battle ahead. It is going to be a long battle. In such a holy war, God is not neutral between the forces of evil and the forces of good. We will not tire, we will not falter and surely, we will not fail, neither will we run to the wall. We are in a fight for our values and principles and our first responsibility is to live by them, no matter whose ox is gored.