The Anointed Men Of God In Ghana Politics

Politics has always been referred to as a dirty game but no matter how dirty it is, a nation can never go ungoverned. Hence, there is the need for every democratic state to elect quality leaders to lead the citizenry.

This leadership has been there in the olden days and still does but people frown on Pastors or Reverend Ministers of the Gospel who indulge in partisan politics. Local chiefs are also barred by the 1992 Constitution from engaging in partisan politics.

In the Ghanaian society, it is believed that Pastors are representatives of the Christian faith, hence their neutral roles in politics are expected. But is that the situation now?

It has been noted with grave concern how some men of the Gospel have permeated the political terrain with expectations of been voted for by the ordinary Ghanaian.

The bill board above says it all with a supposed man of God, Rev. Fred Nii Adjetey Larbie, promoting himself to be voted for by his constituents on the ticket of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) at Bortianor in the Ngleshie Amanfro Constituency. To him, “The Battle is the Lord's.”

I beg to ask; could this be another direction by the Holy Spirit to win souls for the Lord through politics?

Or could it be that the church money is no longer enough for sustenance and have therefore, resorted to making quick money through politics?

These are people who are revered and respected in their various communities and churches. So, now that they have become politicians and every politician is a perceived liar in policy implementation, good governance, accountability et al, how would their congregation and society regard them?

This is not to pass judgment but a reality on the ground. Even though he had not assumed the rein of power, Prophet Daniel Yaw Nkansah, Founder and flagbearer of the New Vision Party (NVP) has been accused of been a fraud in his capacity as a man of God.

It was reported in sections of the Ghanaian media that Prophet Nkansah together with one Haruna Natogma, unemployed appeared before the court for allegedly defrauding four farmers from Karaga District in the sum of GH₵69,000 under the pretext that they would assist them to purchase tractors on hire purchase from John Deere Company Limited at Dobro, near Nsawam.

Again, he was recently arrested by the police on allegations that he had bribed two Electoral Commission (EC) officials with an amount of GH₵1,600 to help facilitate his registration as a presidential aspirant in the upcoming December 7 polls.

Are these the kind of men we wish to lead us to the Promised Land? Certainly not!

When the first Liberian civil war broke out from 1989 to1996, the country resorted to Reverend Ministers of the Gospel as mediators in solving the crisis because they were seen as neutral personalities and representatives of God on earth who could help solve the conflict. over 200,000 people were killed during the war.

When all seemed to be ok with the intervention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the second war also ensued from 1999 to 2003.

Niccolo Machiavelli, once said, “Activities of the church should be separated from Politics because it could destroy the state” and this cannot be underrated since Reverend Ministers play important roles in curbing and solving conflicts.

I spoke to a Political Analyst, Mr. Ambrose Amoah - Ashyia on the issue and he said, it is not appropriate for Pastors to associate themselves with partisan politics because of their positions as peacemakers.

He added that their involvement in active politics demeans that position in the sight of the populace.

According to Mr. Amoah-Ashyiah, they could share their neutral opinions on political issues but their indulgence in party politics would be a suicidal, especially, when they serve as a country's hope in times of conflict.

This year's Presidential and Parliamentary elections have rather seen some Pastors competing for political positions on the parties' ticket.

Now that the political system is changing and Reverend Ministers are getting involved in partisan politics who would the country fall on in times of conflicts and what good examples are they teaching the younger generation?