Devils In Politics

We are constrained to take exception to the penchant to hurl insults at members of the clergy who dare to complain about societal ills by devilish politicians.

Those who hide behind the cloak of politics to do this are not helping the country's development. Rt Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey, who is the latest to suffer such ordeal at the hands of persons the age of his grandchildren, must be mindful about the importance of showing respect to the aged.

When such aged persons hold spiritual positions such as the clergy, the importance of their words become heavier. Some might decide to brush this aside as nonsense but we know as do many others with good upbringing, about why the young should be decent in their relationship with the aged and the clergy.

When the clergyman went to town about how he deflected a bribe offer, what we should have done as a people was to rally around him and condemn the attempt in no uncertain terms. Unfortunately, we have rather taken interest in joining in the polemics which now characterizes politics in this country.

What is wrong with the clergyman bringing to the fore a bribe attempt? There is nothing wrong with that except that it shows clearly that bribery and corruption have become so endemic in our society that those who perpetrate it have taken it to the doorsteps of churches.

We cannot think about something more outlandish than tag the Moderator of the General Assembly of a whole Presbyterian Church with lies. The oldest church in Ghana could not have picked a man with no moral pedigree as a clergyman, more so a moderator.

There is no doubt that while some so-called men of God have fallen for it, others have stood their grounds and refused to succumb to the mouth-watering and irresistible offers which are intended to shut them up.

Rt Rev. Prof Martey would have done the country a disservice, had he shut his eyes to the aberration and not updated us about it. Now that he has exposed it, we are the wiser about the depth of the moral challenge bedeviling us as a nation.

If politicians resort to bribing persons who stand up against bad governance, it suggests that they could not be bothered about the extent of moral decadence that is now a feature of society.

How many others have taken such bribes and shut up without alerting us about where bribery and corruption have reached?

Very soon such so-called clergymen who have been bribed will expose themselves when they begin to endorse those who bribed them.

Rt Rev. Prof Martey should be congratulated on blazing the trail. Let those who would soon be tempted by the filthy rich politicians be wary about the gravy train as it touches base at their residences to deliver the dollar-stuffed envelopes.