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27.07.2018 Feature Article

Atta Mills’s Regime Was Entirely A Religious Legacy Of Peace

Late President Atta MillsLate President Atta Mills
27.07.2018 LISTEN

Political regimes do end with a trafficking mistrust which on numerous occasions is attributed to the country’s first image, the President. Every presidency on this globe has always been censured for almost any decision it takes concerning the state it presides over, if it appears misleading. Some Presidents after ruling for over a decade and more are rather known if not corruptible autocrats, then an amazing squanderer whose actions have weaned the public purse to the similitude of an empty barrel making the most noise. A leader; who is rational, has religion at heart and a sincere servant of God would be the one to paddle the country of Ghana to its intended destination.

It somehow tastes bitter, and sad that history wants to get itself replete of such anti-climaxes in Ghana's political history, why? Anytime as a country, if we are gifted with a God fearing President, the inevitable strips him off our hands. And 24th of July would not stop eventuating this bizarre agony. The hullabaloo of administering an opaque politics would beforced you to reminisced Ghana's most affable late President, Prof. John Evans fiifi Atta Mills’s transition to his creator, barely six years ago. Fortunately, today is singled out as a day of commiseration with his family and to conscientize ourselves.

Tactfully, I am not a political witch hunter, thus my aim is not to begrudge any political proponent with this piece! Its focus is to hindsight, in the paradigm of religious affair; therefore kindly eschew from perusing with an ad hominem nerve. That said, if the chronic predicaments of Ghana being shortlisted under the scope of a developing economy could be salvaged by Politics, it would have long been met since 1 st of July 1960. In the religious hemisphere, we have been assured by the obvious books that leaders are God's mouthpieces on earth after prophethood had been sealed. The late President's regime had experienced an acute one term in office but he served mother Ghana with an irreplaceably fundamental teachings from the obvious books, thereby leaving spots which have appeared on the body of some but had remained in the hearts of those who ponder.

The Marshall of Economics: His savvies of economics and taxation were not limited to enrich himself and his family, but after having thought myriad of students the pretty things he had acquired, he did availed his human resourcefulness for the betterment of the economy of Ghana. His engagement with mankind actually exaggerated Peace to the extent that not only those who surrounded him had a feel of it, but this could be well related in the pragmatic economic approaches he tailored for the economy.

The cedi is obviously on a slowed pace while contesting the dollar which is sparsely spreading its figures like the Ebola virus. This at his time was brought to shoulder with the dollar, in effect, an atmosphere of serenity was the make-up on the faces of those Ghanaians who hardly show a cheerful wink anytime they had to transact business continentally.

Even if you did not have the opportunity to shake hands with him, his decision then had deconstructed frustration and gave birth to peace and pleasures in the world of petty traders and business tycoons Humanitarian and social interventionist: In the same vein then, the security services of the economy (Ghana Police Service, Armed Forces, Fire Services, Immigration Services, Prisons and GRA), in the course of a strenuous work, they are simultaneously deny of family togetherness and would put their only precious life at stake for you and me to have a warm repose. Some of them do die on duty and others get disabled for safeguarding mother Ghana.

The wiser generation then got a maxim that ‚if you are recruited for Ghana Armed forces; Ghana is gambling with your life‛. It was the peaceful man with the meekness of heart who understood the missing link of these warriors. So he implemented the single spine payment module.

Its essence is the influx of Ghanaians, contemporarily in the security services we see today. Previously, people were begged to join but now, people have developed the passion to serve mother Ghana in its various security fraternities.

However, some may also join because of the tension of unemployment, but comparatively, the later point is seldom and lame. The spirit of contributing their quota to national development through the security services has experienced a real hike, most importantly, aftermath the single spine compensation escaped captivity. Religion teaches us that a worker must be paid before his perspiration dries, and that is Islamic.

More so, he understood how sports could be used in rechanneling of the youthful exuberance of Ghanaian youths who have disconnected themselves from the dignified moral facets. Look, people who if it had not been sports, street life and irresponsibility would riddle them, allowing the economy to be bereft of their credentials, were revamped more precisely after he had re-erected the edifice of Ghana hockey Pitch. He being a Sports person; tiled in the administration of football, a skilful hockey player and his affinity to athletics, he knew the impart sports could make. If you stroll to the hockey pitch on Saturdays, you would find great minds and young boys who have taken the hockey pitch as a home.

Talk of Johnny Botsio, who nearly lost tract of his life to a mere hawker, today, through Atta Mill’s social intervention, had kept the good name of Ghana all over Europe, while his crony, Alfred Ntiamoah is now an alumnus of University of Ghana working for Ghana Police. Same could be said of Shadrach Baah who holds MBAs in International Business; a hockey player for HCU Catania, Italy. Elikem Akaba (MBAs) and Nsalbini Salya (Ghana Navy) both played for a Belgium side. Without this edifice, they could have been added to the list of talents gone waste or be active in other social vices, or fraternize with needless things which boost imbecility.

I call him a humanitarian because his tranquillity could be measured in the life of avalanches of successful sports administrators, men and women, and the academicians Ghana have. He redefined anger management in vogue: At his saddest moment whenever foreign international fiscal policy framers imposed on him to ‘intaboolarized’ the traditional despicable and heinous act of homosexuality, he allowed peace decorated with a clad of common sense to do the talking. You can fathom this in how he turned down the offer; he said pliably that ‚United Kingdom could not impose its values on Ghana and I would never legalized homosexuality‛. Prior to several elections he had partook, he had been slammed with virulent attacks from opposition during the campaign season but impertinence had never crippled him to be ballistic.

I remember vividly him at old-time saying: ‚I do not want to hasten into act‛. A whole complete stratospheric thesis could be written on him and his achievement but that is not the focus of this piece lest it become a spiel. I would want us to maintain why I termed his legacy as Peace. In truth, as the date of his death keeps recurring every year, the bereaved family would always be engulfed in distress and desperation, looking disfigured, and feeling rubbed by the angel of death, however, they should not be; God is with them. The first time the word of politics came to mind it has not been convincing until the advent of the late President Atta Mills’s regime and the departed freedom fighters. The obvious books have admonished us that whatever title you die with it would bear witness of you on the day of judgement. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was reported to have said that one would be resurrected together in the company of people he affiliated himself with. The late President was known as a Peaceful man, if I may ask: who were the peaceful dwellers on this earth? My little kid sister would candidly say that it is the Prophets. Let us rather rejoice anytime the passage of time reminds us of his death thus we could show gratitude to God for his life.

It is inarguable that Ghanaians at a whole we are penchant in praising the dead than the living but this jinx was unshackled while he (Late President) was alive and after his death, he had earned the title ‘’Asomdwee Hene’’ (The King of Peace). Biblically, king of Peace is one of the attributes of Melchizedek the King of Salem and the Priest of El Elyon who has no ending and beginning reported in Hebrews 7.1-15. And islamically, it stands for the religion of Islam, and Peace happens to be among the 99 names (As-Salam) of Allah. The late President, Prof. J.EF.A. Mills’s political life in this world is a quintessential trait of the two famous but rather Coptic religions of Ghana, Islam and Christianity.

Undoubtedly, if Prof. Atta Mills, who being a taxation Jargon, gives out the statistics regarding how he had helped in reducing drastically the inflation rate of Ghana, people would have ranted, as depicted in the year 2011. After his demise, all Ghanaians unanimously agreed that his relationship with other fellow human beings had been nothing but peaceful; in the political sphere, economic stretch, social wing and common sense approach, all you have to be alluded with is that the late President, Prof. J.EF.A. Mills epitomises Peace. His attitude had left me enviable; wishing I could covet this accolade whenever his name resurfaced because the word peace has become inextricable to his name.

In the political realm, we may be thinking that his legacy has been the free flow of goods, services and capital, or a lean government, or austerity, but I say to you that it was a magnificent reincarnated attribute of God which bred from central region, Ekumfi Otuam, indeed for Ghana to rejoice in peace forever. However, If we had lived in peace with each other while running the economy, there shall not be any government official who would misconstrue success as driving V8 which fuel consumption rate per a year could provide a common tap water for the people of Chavanya or be used as a scholarship package for the ordinarily Ghanaian who had to halt university to work as a driver and consider a mangled car as his apartment here in Accra. If peace has redefined us, we would never enjoy uninterrupted power supply while the mere sole proprietor gets devastated with power outages.

And if we as a country have been more peaceful, a graduate from training college, university and polytechnic would not be compelled to agreeably be recruited under any of the seven modules and get paid 700ghs while the public gurus take away wholesome stipend. And if we had dared to mimic the late President Atta Mills’s strategy of peace, there would not be any public official who would transmogrify Ghana into a milking cow that the ordinary Ghanaian has no option than to buy a contaminated fuel. If Atta Mills’s hospitable life, its modicum is found in our security service of today, a harmless nursing mother would not be brutalized by a Ghanaian police officer only for requesting for her own 250ghs. And what If Atta Mills’s peace was granted to the ordinarily Ghanaian, he will not grow up yearning to become a liability to the country, as it is demonstrated in the spate of armed robbery and hooliganism. If the Policeman had understood a sound reformation of peace, he would not have subjected a 14 years student to 36 lashes of cans for allegedly showing impudence.

And finally, if peace had prevailed and ruined, they would have ensured that the national pie or cake goes not to their favourites only, and the cacophonous political prototypes would be abolished in the recruitment arena. As a nation, we are just sick! We would never change, we have allowed the double ‘’Ps’’ to wash away all our thinking abilities, and that we are effectively rationale only when we are in opposition. Atta, you are forever missed. Frankly, I am petrified to sympathize with the family of the late President, after he has led an exemplary religious legacy of peace; I am still accosting women who get top public appointment as friends with benefits.

I am a camouflaged skipper in the number 12 shirt jersey seeing the loosed watchman goalkeeper afar, so I have scored all my goals from a farther distance. Yet still, People have never uttered mistakenly that I am a peaceful woman. It is a sad ‚distin‛. Anyway, if we want to attain peace and wallow in the serene atmosphere, in all aspects of the economy, as a country, it would be very crucial to emulate Atta Mills’s legacy of political dexterity cum religious asylum in anything we do. Because, when you are at peace, you would do nothing but wish peace for your brother and you may have the proclivity of being a sincere public official and a well-meaning compatriot for mother Ghana.

Thus, the Bible (Matthew 9.5) was absolute right in the beatitudes when it says that blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the children of God. It is my fervent prayer that as all of us have agreed that he is a peaceful man; may the Almighty honour His promise in making him His child, because He never fails in keeping his vow. Our ancestral mores reminds us that ‚When a man dies, his tongue does not get rotten‛.

God, bless mother Ghana.
© Abdur Rahman Odoi Anum Pobee
Copyright © 2018. Youth of La Central Mosque, all right reserved. Permission is hereby given to circulate this write-up or any portion of it on other media platforms by strictly referencing the Blog or YouthOfLaCentralMosque without omission, interpolation, fabrication and addition.

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