One Ghana

It was sunday. I woke up to the welcoming window-type penetrating rays of the morning sun,a blend of nextdoor parents shouting at their wards to do one thing or the other, and ‘sunday school’ children of a nearby church singing multiple action songs to complement the offbeat rythm produced by their unskilled band boys…i knew i was late for church;late for church for the fact that church commences at exactly 7:00 am, and the fact choresters are to report even earlier.

I was disapppinted in me for disappointing my strong desire to be at church -to sing and worship the Being up high. I was disappointed in me because am no ‘Boss’ but i overslept. little did i know that it was a blessing in disguise.

Some minutes after, while i laid in the comfort of my room, their adult service would continue from where the children service left off. They sung i sung along,they danced i danced along, they worshiped i worshiped along, they gave offering and i stayed indoor. Shame on me right?? chaley, then i broke!..

And oh, i wont forget the ‘blessing in disguise’; the message in their preacherman’s sermon-so relative, so impacting and some part sad. He themed his sermon ‘the tongue’, memory verses he gave a few, sorry i did not write them down, for i was listening with ears…He preached on, caught the attention of his congregation and outsiders alike, alluded to the Rwandan genocide and it was all silence because he managed through the hearts of many. He narrated the genocide with such unparallel skill, and reminded All about the staggering number of death roll. He pointed to the sorry refugees most Rwandans had become, the resulting humanitarian crisis that plagued the world and the fact that all these were triggered by ill utterances made by some elite Hutu Rwandan Nationalists. His message was day-clear; ‘the tongue’, and he guided it perfectly in all regards, pointed to the adversity of war and cautioned his members and all Ghanaians to be very mindful of their utterances especially as we head towards november elections.

Back in my room i was touched and impacted, so i reflected till i was reminded about the fact i was going to write an article on peace; to be consumed by the youth and the general public. – that i was going to prompt the citizenry not to render themselves objects of political manipulation. Well, not to say we will wake up one day to see bullets sweep the length and breadth of this country, but we must be reminded that peace is not guaranteed unless through conscious and collective efforts towards justice, tolerance and security. Bonar Law once said “There is no such thing as inevitable war. If war comes, it will be from the failure of human wisdom”. Clearly there’s no guarantee of peace where wisdom is not applied on all fronts, neither is there war which could never have been prevented.

It takes a high sense of tolerance to rise above our political and religious affiliations and divisions. It must not be overemphasized that we belong to one another. -that we are one people with a common destiny -that we are a special group of people with the sole stake in the past, present and future of this country…And that we have no room for distortion of our democratic dispensation through unwarranted vilification and utterances.Our role as electorates are simple: Tolerate, Vote, Be vigilant, and be patient for your leaders.

One would ask if tolerance is the only means of getting the work done in our quest to safeguard our peace. Obviously no!.All stakeholders must come into play. Justice and Security they say are the prerequisite for peace and stability. It must not be over emphasized that injustice and poor security are the bane of election related distruction across the African continent. In light of this, the electoral commision,EC, and National security service agencies must be fully equipped and skilled to listen to genuine call for fairness and security, and to be able to handle well election related developments without prejudice and sense of belonging.

The present existence of Ghana i must say is that of diaspora. Some Ashantis in Ga lands, Some Gas in Eve lands, it goes on and on. Some Northeners married to Fantes, some Fantes to Hauses, it goes on and on…And considering that Ghana has crossed the modern democracy threashold and is examplar to many countries across the globe, we cannot be driven down the scary lanes of pre/post election arnachy, haven failed to exercise wisdom in tolerance, security and justice.