As the political atmosphere continue to gather more
and more momentum in the buildup to the November polls, you would find
politicians trying fervently to cash-in on every opportunity that they think
would fetch them votes at the expense of their political opponents and
sometime, the nation. We have already witnessed some of these political
gimmickries and would continue to witness a lot more especially as we draw
closer to November 7, deemed as “judgment day” for these politicians. So my
fellow countrymen and women, do not let any such moves surprise you else you
would get overwhelmed by its manifest preponderance. I trust in your sense of
judgment and believe you would be able to decipher between a baseless or
malicious propaganda and a genuine move to canvass for your votes.
I’m sure you may have heard recently, that the running
mate of the NPP, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been in the news rightly or
wrongly, for some comments he made somewhere in the Upper West Region whilst
addressing some party folks. He is widely reported to have suggested that
Ghana’s presidency and for that matter the flagstaff house is currently not
representative of the people of Ghana in terms of religion. For some
mischievous reasons as expected, this rather innocuous comment from the
soft-spoken politician has deliberately been given some diabolic twist by his
political opponents for unmeritorious electoral gains. The NDC folks for
instance, think that Dr. Bawumia has given them a trump card for their 2016
campaign as they accuse the NPP and Dr. Bawumia in particular of religious
fanaticism and bigotry. But is that really the case? Absolutely NO!
Let’s interrogate what Dr. Bawumia said and do the
necessary content analysis. What at all has he said that we are unaware of? Is
it a fact that religion has a role to play in politics anywhere in the world?
Is it a fact that we have two dominant religions in Ghana? Is it a fact that
the 1992 constitution of Ghana, precisely article 21 calls for some degree of
reasonable balance and fair representation in our governance regime and for
that matter every aspect of our national life? Then why blame Bawumia for reiterating
what our Constitution clearly says? Is it not a fact that the NPP has made it a
convention to always go for a balanced ticket (in terms of religion) in its
presidential ticket? Do you think the party does that just for the beauty of it
or for strategic political reasons? Then, why blame them when they, among other
reasons, campaign on that basis? Perhaps I should also let you know that one
basic Islamic principle is that Muslims should support their own; even though
that was not the argument Dr. Bawumia was putting across.
Do not make a mistake and underestimate the combined
effect of Islam and Christianity and for that matter the two Holy Books on the
prospects of a nation. Remember in Ghana’s history, all governments since
Nkrumah have made strenuous efforts to discover oil in this country but were
unsuccessful until the only time we had a Muslim (Aliu Mahama) and a Christian
(John Kufour) at the presidency. This, cannot be a mere coincidence and it
should tell you that when the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran come together,
great things happen as evidenced in the erstwhile NPP regime when the nation
was overwhelmed with so much blessings from Almighty Allah. This is exactly
what Alhaji Bawumia is admonishing Ghanaians to go for.
When you look at our national events, why do you think
that the State always invites both the clergy (representing Christians) and the
office of the National Chief Imam (representing Muslims)? And when such
programmes begin with an opening prayer from say, a Christian leader then
automatically, the closing prayer will be said by a Muslim and vice versa. What
is wrong if Bawumia says we should replicate this same way of life at the
Presidency to reflect our way of life from the days of Adam? Why are we being
hypocritical in the country? In any case Alhaji Bawumia did not say Ghanaians
should vote for the NPP because he (Bawumia) is a Muslim. Instead, he premised
his argument on the issue of balanced and fair representation as underpinned in
our very constitution. Or is it not true that the NPP's Nana-Bawumia ticket is
more balanced and fairly representative of the people of this country than the
NDC's? So, what’s the big deal? Beyond this, who doesn’t know that Dr. Bawumia’s
pedigree and competency is beyond every reasonable doubt? I am not surprised
that one award winning lecturer of Church History at UCC, Dr. Worlanyo Bansa has
launched a spirited defense for Dr. Bawumia and proceeded to applaud the “economic
prophet” of our time.
But can you begrudge the NDC for chiding Alhaji Dr.
Bawumia when we all know that they are desperately looking for a “partner in
crime from the NPP” for the current Brong Ahafo Regional Minister (Eric Opoku),
the current Transport Minister (Fiifi Kwetey) and the former Transport Minister
(Dzifa Attivor)? Unfortunately, they’ve not had one in Alhaji Dr. Bawumia. Eric
Opoku, who is a non-Muslim, yet deliberately picks the Holy Quran and twists
the unadulterated words of Almighty Allah for unmeritorious political gains; an
act that even the devil wouldn’t contemplate because of its incalculable
implications. The NDC as we speak hasn’t still condemned nor dissociated the
party from this blasphemy because they think it serves their interest. Fiifi
Kwetey is alleged to have said that Muslims are not qualified to rule this
country whilst Dzifa Attivor made the most reckless tribal inflammation when
she infamously asserted that the NPP hates ewes and that, she would go to jail
if NPP won the 2016 elections. How unfortunate!
Once again, I wish to trust that as Ghanaians, we are
very discerning and wouldn’t allow ourselves to be swayed by such counterproductive
maneuvers because in the final analysis, we the ordinary Ghanaians bear the
brunt of the electoral decisions we make today. I wish you well in this
election year and beyond.
Thank you.
A concerned Ghanaian in the struggle
#ForGodAndCountry
IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN
Youth Activist/Social Commentator
Former NUGS Secretary
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