OUR GOD IS TOO LENIENT

The advent of Europeans into Ghana and by extension Africa brought in its wake among other things religion. Western religion is undoubtedly one of the monuments which are silent reminders of the European adventures in Africa, something other people would like to blot out of memory.

In Ghana it is not uncommon to come across a church or a mosque and many if not all Ghanaian s pride themselves as either Christians or Muslims. The 2010 population census in Ghana put Christians at 68.8 percent and Muslims at 15.9 percent. This goes to affirm that Christians and Muslims are the dominant in Ghana. The irony is that, drinking bars where they sell hard drinks ranging from 'Ogogulo' to herbal bitters are planted in almost every nook and crevice of this country.

The mind boggling question is that, who patronize these drinks since both Christianity and Islam largely forbade these drinks?

As a resident of Oyarifa in Accra, it a common knowledge that Madina Zongo Junction harbor's many prostitutes and drug peddlers at nights. The story is no different in Kwame Nkrumah Circle, the first destination of many first time visitors to Accra. This menace has turn into routine of ritual contest and prostitution now seems as a lawful profession that any lady can readily engage in without being apprehended. Areas in all the regional capitals and even some mining communities, intelligence reports indicate are recording an alarming rate of prostitution including teenage prostitution. And who at all patronize their services since 84.7 percent of Ghanaian s are either Christians or Muslims?

It's no news to here that many students in Teacher Colleges of Education and Health Training Institutions paid huge sums of money before they secured admission. My own story is enough to substantiate this claim, after completing Senior High School in 2008, my first option was to go to either Teacher College of Education or Health Training Institution but that dream was shut down, I needed to pay bribe before I could secure admission to any of these institutions despite my sterling grades. I tried three times but in all attempts, the tune was the same, 'you must pay protocol fee before you could secure admission'. The shock and the pain I suffered was like rocket-propelled grenade but thank Allah I was able to come over that trauma.

The thought of paying bribe was something my personal upbringing and my inner ego vehemently

opposed and would have left me mentally bruised forever if I had yielded to. But the irony is that majority of these people who take these monies are Christians and Muslims.

It is no secret that the corruption perception index have shown that the level of corruption in our public institutions and government institutions is on the rise. There are allegations of inflated contracts signed by people in governance just to siphon the already shrinking coffers of our dear nation. Meanwhile people in governance have sworn oaths by either Bible or Qur'an to serve their people in honesty and sincerity. Our God is too lenient.

It is not uncommon to hear that a labour union is threatening to embark on strike or has embarked on strike. The strike action by doctors, pharmacists, UTAG, FUSSAG, JUSSAG and GNAT are so fresh in our minds to be narrated. As the adage goes, 'a hungry man is an angry-man' but should we allow our desire to acquire wealth overshadow our desire to serve our nation? Meanwhile doctors swear Hippocratic oaths to put the lives of patients above their personal interest likewise our labor unions. Does undue strike that stretch beyond the limit that washes away public sympathy amounts to breaching the oath we swore to put the interest of the state above any other interest? If so, why don't we suffer the wrath of our creator in whose name we swore the oath? Our God is too lenient

But do we blame our fathers and mothers who are denied wages and salaries which they rightfully deserve? After all the only language government understands is strike. If our economy is broke, how come government is able to pay huge gratuities of MP's some of whose voices are only heard either saying 'yeeeye' or 'nooono' during parliamentary proceedings? How come,government is able to pay huge judgment debts which amounts to several millions of cedi's? Government cannot certainly not hide behind the cover of the all too familiar phrase 'we are overburden with huge wage bill'

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Hypocrisy and lies are now the order of the day instead of truth and righteousness despite the fact that majority of Ghanaian s are Christians and Muslims.

I propose an alternative, people who are appointed or nominated to serve must use a 'river deity' or a 'god' instead of a Bible or Qur'an because many people flout oaths with impunity. With this in place I strongly believe that the public purse would be protected.

Writer: Abdul-Karim Mohammed A.
B.A.Communication Studies,
University of Cape-Coast.
Email:[email protected]