Source/Credit: Ghanian Chronicle
By I. K. Gyasi | December 19, 2011
The leaders of the various religious organisations, especially, those of the Christian and Islamic persuasions, always find themselves in a dilemma.
They are often called upon to act and speak on matters of national importance. If they do not speak, they are accused of keeping silent in the face of the perpetration of injustice. If they speak, they are accused of dabbling in partisan politics.
Indeed, most of the time, what passes for criticism is nothing, but personal, scurrilous and gratuitous insults that betray a total lack of good breeding on the part of the so-called critics.
Last month, members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) issued a post-conference communiqué, in which they called for (1) verification to go with bio-metric registration, (2) an alternative to the computerised system of admission to the Senior High School and (3) a reversion to the four-year duration, instead of the current three-year duration for the senior high programme.
The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), led by its General Secretary, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, descended heavily on the 20-member Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference.
The bishops were falsely accused of proposing that we go back to the old manual system of admission to the Senior High school. The Bishops did not say that. They asked for the replacement of the current computerised system with “a workable alternative.”
It would have been legitimate if the critics had asked the bishops to be more specific. Instead, the NDC chose the path of ridicule, by saying that while the bishops asked for verification, they were asking for a return to the manual system of admission, a clear contradiction.
Because the proposals by the bishops on verification and reversion to the four-year period coincided with the position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), some critics of the bishops branded them as being members, supporters, or sympathisers of the NPP.
If all of the 20 bishops, chosen from across the regions of the country, had sympathy for the NPP, then the NPP must have a special attraction for all of these 20 bishops.
Incidentally, going by statements from within the NDC, one could be forgiven for thinking that the NDC has no friends in the media, the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), the Judiciary, and other organisations in the country. But, let that pass.
Some of the critics of the bishops really went into the gutters to pick up dirt to throw at them. Part of the editorial of THE INFORMER newspaper, alleged to be owned by or connected to Mr. Koku Anyidoho, Presidential Spokesperson, described the Bishops as “… disgraceful charlatans, hypocrites and parasites who are walking around in cassocks, pretending to be agents of God.” (THE INFORMER - Monday, November 21 – Tuesday, November 22, 2011).
The Most Reverend Dr. Charles Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Accra, and the Most Reverend Dr. Joseph Osei Bonsu, Catholic Bishop of the Mampong-Konongo Diocese, who also happens to be the current President of the GCBC, were singled out for vicious insults.
The ‘crime’ of the two priests was that, as President of the GCBC, Bishop Osei Bonsu had read the post-Conference Communiqué, while the Archbishop Palmer-Buckle had granted interviews in which he had reiterated the position of the bishops.
Ironically, criticisms of the bishops included the charge that they were ignorant when it comes to matters of education. If you can believe that, then you can believe anything!
As the first Ghanaian Head (Ameer) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Maulvi A. Wahab Adam has received great respectability for himself and the Mission.
Ably supported by the elders and ordinary followers of the Mission, this septuagenarian leader has faithfully tried to implement the educational, social, health and humanitarian polices of the World-wide Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, whose current, temporary headquarters is in the United Kingdom.
In his almost 40-year stewardship as Ameer, Maulvi Wahab Adam’s personal achievements have included the following: National Honour as a Companion of the Order of the Volta; Ambassador for Peace – South Korea; International Lincoln Centre Distinguished Leadership Award; an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cape Coast; President, Ghana Conference of Religions for Peace; Vice Chairman, Ghana Integrity Initiative (The Ghana Chapter of Transparency International); Member, National Peace Council; Member, Otumfuo Education Fund; Former Commissioner, National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), etc.
Maulvi Adam is a married man; he and his wife have been blessed with children who have been well-educated. Everywhere, within the Mission, across the various religious and political divides, and among various professional and other groups or individuals, he is held in high esteem. His peace-making efforts have been widely acknowledged in the appropriate circles. In addition to his mother-tongue, Twi, he also speaks English and Urdu very fluently.
It is this man, who was viciously insulted by certain elements within the NDC, for allegedly criticising Mr. Koku Anyidoho, while allegedly keeping quiet over Nana Akufo-Addo’s “All die be die” pronouncement.
It was said, among other things, that he was a card-bearing member of the NPP, and that because the NPP was no longer in power, he had become hard up. They wondered why President John Evans Atta Mills should even swear him in as a Member of the Ghana Peace Council, when he belonged to the NPP.
Even, Mr. Chris Ackumey, this pathetic lawyer who has freely confessed to committing the crime of facilitating the giving of a bribe to a judge, dared to accuse Maulvi Adam of “hypocrisy.” What is the truth?
About the time that Nana Akufo-Addo made his pronouncement, Maulvi Adam had been invited to the studios of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to do a re-recording of some of the subjects that had formed his “Reflections” broadcast at GBC.
After the re-recording, Maulvi Adam was asked to comment on Nana Akufo-Addo’s statement. According to him, he cautioned against the use of inflammatory language by politicians and other persons. He says this information can be verified. It is, therefore, not true that he kept quiet.
In the case of Mr. Anyidoho’s statement, it was JOY FM that took the initiative to interview him. As it was in the case of Nana Akufo-Addo’s statement, what Maulvi said was cautionary more than condemnatory.
President Mills professes to be a God-fearing man, with great faith in the ability of men and women of God to help him find the right path. He has had to invite these leaders to the Castle, the Peduase Lodge, and probably, other places to listen to their prayer and advice. Yet, see how his own people are treating these priests, it is a shame.
PS – Happy New Year in advance to all my readers.
Read original post here: The attacks on priests
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.