President Akufo-Addo addressing muslims at the Independence Square
President Akufo-Addo has asked Muslims to pray for him in the discharge of the duties bestowed on him and his government.
Addressing a large crowd of Muslims at the Black Star Square (Independence Square) in Accra yesterday to mark the end of the month-long Ramadan fasting and prayers, President Akufo-Addo said, “I ask you to pray to God for me and members of my government that I will govern in accordance with his will.
“I believe that we are a blessed nation – a nation where people of different faiths live together in peace and harmony,” he remarked, while asking Ghanaians to cherish the bond among themselves and use it to advance the cause of the country.
Pledge
“On my part, I continue to commit myself to the principles of our Constitution, which enjoin me to be fair towards all Ghanaians, irrespective of their religious creed,” he pledged.
As a Christian, he indicated, “I am deeply respectful of the Islamic faith, for that, Christianity and Judaism are called the Abrahamic faiths.”
“We must therefore emphasize the things that bind us, rather than the ones that divide us.”
President Akufo-Addo had cause to caution all Ghanaian Muslims to be wary of ideologues, who may pervert a beautiful religion like Islam for their selfish and destructive gains.
Charge
“Whether you are Ahl-Sunna, Tijaniyya, Shia or Ahmadiyya, I remind you of the words of Allah as captured in Quran Chapter 3:103: And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah stretches out to you, and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favour on you; for you were enemies and he joined your hearts in love, so that by His grace you became brethren…”, he entreated.
Gender Development
As the African Union (AU) Spokesperson on Gender and Development and one, who prides himself as being fully committed to gender equality, President Akufo-Addo noted that one of the cardinal teachings of the Prophet Muhammad is gender justice.
He explained that before the advent of Islam, women in Arabia were treated as second-rate citizens, and female infanticide was rife.
Eventually, he observed, “The Prophet restored the dignity of the woman, which we are required to uphold.”
For him, “It is not for nothing that the Prophet urges us to learn half of our religion from Aisha, a woman. This Prophetic admonishment resembles Kwegyir Aggrey’s oft-quoted statement that ‘if you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation.’”
Advice
Nana Akufo-Addo seized the opportunity to urge Muslims, residents of Zongos and persons of inner communities to participate in the ongoing nationwide consultative fora on the use of the Zongo Development Fund when it becomes operational.
He believes it would afford residents the opportunity to “contribute ideas that will enable us fashion out a blueprint that will be acceptable and practicable, and which will inure to the benefit of all people in Zongo and inner cities. It is time we brought prosperity to all parts of our country.”
To ensure the judicious and prudent management of this Fund, he said government was in the process of fashioning out the Zongo Development Fund Law, which, when enacted by Parliament, would trigger the use of the money for the development of Zongo communities.
Currently, the Minister for Zongo and Inner City Development, Boniface Abubakar Siddique, is undertaking a nationwide consultative process on the use of the Fund.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent