Don’t Joke With Terrorism Threat … Ghana Baptist Convention Warns Security Agencies

The Executive President of the Ghana Baptist Convention, Rev Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, has cautioned the security agencies to take the rumour about a possible terrorist attack on Ghana serious. According to him, though the country is enjoying relative peace, it would still be dangerous for the security apparatus to ignore such rumours, and that they must act fast to ensure the safety of Ghanaians.

The Chronicle reported recently that some residents of Ghana's border town of Paga, in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, were living in fear, following a terrorist attack that killed 18 people in neighbouring Burkina Faso on Sunday.

Though residents were seen going about their normal businesses when The Chronicle visited the town on Monday (August 14), they said they were living in fear, because they could not tell whether the terrorists would extend their dastardly act to the border town.

The attack on the Aziz Istanbul Restaurant in the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou, came barely a year after a similar attack on January 15, 2016. In that attack on the Cappuccino Restaurant and the Splendid Hotel in the heart of Ouagadougou, at least, 30 people were killed, whilst about 56 others were wounded. A similar attack also occurred in Ivory Coast, where innocent people lost their lives.

Speaking at the 54th Annual Session of the Ghana Baptist Convention at Ejura in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, President Adu Gyamfi said the fact that such claims about a possible terrorist attack on Ghana are emanating from the social media did not mean the security agencies should sit idle, warning that the country could pay dearly for it, and that the earlier the security agencies sat up, the better it would be for the country.

Reverend Adu-Gyamfi also urged Members of Parliament, who are representatives of the people, to build bi-partisan consensus on key national issues to help build the nation. He, therefore, appealed to the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aron Mike Oquaye, to ensure that key issues like education, health and the problem of rent advance in the country were settled once and for all.

The annual session brought together delegates from the various Baptist member churches, as well as senior pastors, members of denominational boards and sector heads. It was under the theme: 'Christian Discipline for Holistic Development.'

The Executive President said a national policy was there to guide the forward going of the nation, irrespective of whichever political party was in power, and that such policies should have nothing to do with politics.

Rev Adu-Gyamfi said the argument over three or four years and a free Senior High School is not serving the nation any good. Rather, it is toying with the lives of the youth in the country. He also asked: “Where else in the world do people pay two to five years rent advance, apart from Ghana.”

Touching on Ghana Baptist Convention issues, he said his presidency believed that the key mandate of the church was evangelism and mission, and that the convention had about 2,500 churches across the country. To him, the provision of holistic gospel preaching must go hand in hand with the needs of people. Rev Yaw Opuni-Frimpong, General Secretary of the Christian Council, called for unity among the Christendom, and appealed to pastors to instill the best cultural and practices of Christianity in the coming generations.

He said Ghanaians were preaching about peace and unity only during elections, and that this must be replicated through the traditional authorities, in churches, and also in in-faiths, to strengthen national cohesion.

Rev Opuni-Frimpong said some churches were discouraging their members from marrying from other churches, which, to him, is breading sharp divisions in the Christian religion.

Alhaji Mohammed Salisu Bamba, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ejura-Sekyedumasi, said the Municipal Assembly recognises the massive infrastructure and investment made by the Ghana Baptist Convention in the municipality.

He said the Municipality was the food basket of the country, and urged the Baptist Convention to take advantage of marketing activities in the area.

The MCE also requested the Convention to construct a health facility in the municipality, and called for discipline among all faiths in the country.

By Emmanuel Akli