US Honours Ghanaians
TWO DISTINGUISHED Ghanaians, Most Rev. Bishop Vincent Nii Boi-Nai, Catholic Bishop of Yendi and Hussein Zakaria, Planned Parenthood Association Zonal Chair, have been awarded Martin Luther King Jnr. Award for Peace and Social Justice.
The annual award, which is the first of its kind to be initiated in Ghana by the US Embassy, is to recognize and honour Ghanaian community peace heroes who have helped in building a culture of non-violence, dialogue and peace resulting in sustainable, positive change, but have not been recognized.
In her remarks at the ceremony held at the Kofi Annan Peace Keeping Centre, Teshie, a suburb of Accra, Ms. Pamela E. Bridgewater, US Ambassador to Ghana said the USA organizes this event every year on February 15, in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr.'s birthday.
Dr Martin Luther King Jnr., she said, was a gifted, humble, southern Baptist preacher who boldly articulated a dream of a world in which his children might be judged as people and not by prejudice.
That dream resonated around the world and caused a tidal wave that ultimately helped to break down the walls of segregation and discrimination in the United States of America.
Ms Bridgewater averred that Dr Luther King Jnr, who was present in Ghana during its first independence celebration, was inspired by Ghana's dream of independence and freedom that buoyed him in his later work to bring civil rights to the citizens of the US.
“He was also buoyed by Mahatma Gandhi, a man of peace and non-violent social resistance whose activities helped him to realize that the destiny of human kind is inextricably intertwined with our fellow man, a garment of mutuality.”
According to her, it was not enough to take a day out of the year to educate nations about the plight of the oppressed and the powerful potency of justice, while hate, prejudice and discrimination plague the world.
Ms Bridgewater noted that Dr King's selfless contribution to the civil rights movement challenged the moral conscience of humanity, and believed that every human being has dignity.
Citations read at the presentation said Bishop Vincent Nii Boi-Nai and Alhaji Hussein Zakaria had demonstrated unique leadership and courage in establishing, guiding and supporting the promotion of peace among the people and religious bodies in the Northern Region.
It said Bishop Nii Boi-Nai, an outstanding advocate for peace, immediately after the assassination of the late Ya-Na in March 2002, established a peace committee which has effectively reached across the religious, ethnic and clan divides in the Yendi area to ensure dialogue was started and continued.
His initiative has proved true with the Yendi Peace Committee members playing possibly the single most important role in ensuring that no new outbreaks of violence have occurred over the past five years.
Bishop Nii Boi-Nai has served the people of Yendi and its environs since July 10, 1998 after he was called to Rome to serve as the General Counsel for the Catholic Divine World Missionaries Society in 1996.
Concerning Alhaji Zakaria, the citation continued that since the death of Ya-Na, he had led by example, stressing the positive roles that Imams and Islamic preachers could play in defusing conflict and giving positive messages of peace to their followers.
He had also been a leader in inter-religious dialogue in the Northern Region, working closely with religious leaders in the Protestant and Catholic churches to ensure that messages of peace were constantly emerging from the pulpits of churches and mosques in the region.
The two recipients, who took turns to express their gratitude for the honour done them by the Embassy, called on political leaders and their followers to preach peace and also exhibit it in their daily activities.
They said each time there was inter-party and chieftaincy conflicts, the youth suffer most since they are the most vulnerably.
“Promoting peace in such areas should be deemed high.”
The community leaders used the occasion to advise politicians to call a spade a spade when making their campaign speeches than making vague promises that never materialize after they have ascended the throne.
They also called on religious leaders to use their offices to unite the people since inter-religious dialogue was the greatest factor to the promotion of peace, stability and development.
“If we have to achieve something as a people, it has to be something good for the world and humanity,” they stressed. By Henrietta Abayie