I criticized Duncan-Williams for commanding the cedi - Tony Aidoo

Revered Man of God, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams, over the past week has been lambasted and criticized for interceding through prayers for the falling cedi to shoot up.

To some, there is nothing wrong in offering prayers but others who criticized him believe he had no authority to command the cedi to rise.

According to Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, if the Archbishop can command the cedi to rise, he can equally be the President of the country.

Discussing the issue further on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji programme, Ambassador designate to the Netherlands, Dr Tony Aidoo said the Archbishop is not being criticized just because he offered prayers; ‘but he commanded the cedi’ adding ‘there is a big difference between the two’.

“He commanded the cedi and you see the implications are not funny. There are very serious implication for our national value system, our attitudes and everything… the excessive religiosity that has become the bane of national development whereby a group of people set themselves up as intermediaries between us and God. They give the impression that they have been ordained with special supernatural powers with the effect that, people, instead of taking responsibilities for their lives, turn to these people (pastors) for their salvation. It breeds indolence, laziness and these are the things that create a problem for national development.

The former head of monitoring and evaluation at the presidency who has been strongly condemned for always criticizing men of God in the country, underscored the point that he is a religious person who ‘prays’ every morning; hence would not have had a problem with the leader of the Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM) had he just offered simple prayers.

He mentioned that, “we all pray; even those of us who have been classified as anti-Christ. I get up in the morning and say 'oh God have mercy on me; have mercy on me'. I do that about 10 or 20 times but we don’t set ourselves up as people with some extra-ordinary powers to pray and command. The Archbishop did not pray for the cedi he commanded the cedi and there is a very big difference."