body-container-line-1
12.09.2015 Letter

Open Letter To The Good People Of Ghana

By Dav-2-Love
Open Letter To The Good People Of Ghana
12.09.2015 LISTEN

“I the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth ….. “ – (Genesis 1 : - )

“I appeal to you, brothers (fellow Christians) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may perfectly united in mind and thought.” – (1 Corinthians 1:10)

“O you who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in the footsteps of satan. He is an outright enemy to you.” - (Holy Quran: 2: 208)

“O mankind, indeed We have created you male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.”- (Surat Al-Hujurat : 49:13)

It is with a troubled and sunken heart that I write to you this day from a corner in Tema. I know I’ll lose a couple of readers the very second they start reading because I’m not a celebrity, well-known preacher or a politician. Yes I’m not any of the above. I’m just a normal guy who’s been writing articles here and there with a small message I want to share with every Ghanaian both home and abroad. The message is unity.

I started this article with quotes from both the Holy Bible and Holy Quran. The reason being that these two religions have always been perceived to “have a go” at each other. I had wanted to add that of Hinduism and other major religions. The message all major religions around the world preach about is unity, coexistence and brotherly love. The message is so consistent in all teachings of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Rastafarianism and other major religions.

Christianity and Islam agree to the fact that both Adam (Adem in Islam) and Eve (Hawwa in Islam) are the first human beings on this earth. Both religions believe in peace and equality amongst us. Both preach about a world without boundaries, race, tribe, colour and language. This should something simple since no matter what religion you find yourself in, peace and coexistence is the topmost priority. But the chaos in this world has brought about imbalance to the world.

Ghana which has been touted as one of the most peaceful countries of the world and the always chaotic continent of Africa, has six main ethnic groups and many tribes scattered across its ten regions. Most, if not all of the ethnic groups migrated from various parts of olden Africa to our current place of settlement. Most have settled, mixed and separated at various times in history. We all share the same parts or part of a particular culture. We’ve had our differences in the past due to wars on land and taxes to be paid to kings and moved on as a united country when we stood up and fought for independence as one people. It’s come down to accepted inter-tribal marriages to schooling and working in other regions.

We can’t talk about unity or tolerance on a higher level due to certain stances taken by most politicians in this country. Politics is described by Wikipedia as “(from Greek: politicos, definition “of, for, or relating to citizens”) the practice and theory of influencing other people. More narrowly, it refers to achieving and exercising positions of governance – organized control over a human community, particularly a state.” Politics, is taking away our basic knowledge in life. That all humans irrespective of tribe, colour, age, height, and any other features come from Adam and Eve, if you belong to a religion which believes, or the fact that we all have the same blood pigment. When you take away politics, all you have left is a beautiful group of people living together in compound houses and communities or attending the same churches, mosques, monasteries and schools, or going to that same party, funeral, wedding, that “drinking spot”, club, pub or studio or military, police, fire, navy service personnel and even prisoners or supporting the same football clubs both in Ghana and the diaspora or that same people who wear the red, gold and green to support the Blackstars. And yes that woman/man you’re dating, or fiancé you want to marry. Did you think about ethnic group when you read that last sentence?

You see, we’re all one people. These are daily occurrences. From the “trotro”, to the hospital and to the school, we come into contact with thousands of people we see as fellow Ghanaians. Let’s try and see beyond politics. After all, they work for us and not the other way round. We pay them and as such must gain from them in terms of development. Whether I belong to party A or party B, it doesn’t make me much less of a human for you to hate me. It just means I chose what I liked. If party A or B wins, it means the majority voted for who they liked. After that election, we should unite, work and hold each official accountable to make our system work as a nation. Public positions should never be seen as a shortcut to riches but rather a place to proudly serve Ghana.

We need to put Ghana first in everything we do. We must oil the gears propelling this country with truth and integrity. We must also do away with tribalism and partisan politics and stay united at all times. I hope anybody who reads this will from now on realise how far we are from building a nation as one people until unity prevails. In unity, there has always been strength and united we stand, divided we fall. May God, Allah continue to bless Ghana.

Thank you.
[email protected]

body-container-line