God Have Mercy On Ghana - Methodist Bishop Cries Out

A worried Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof Emmanuel Asante, on Friday expressed disgust at the obnoxious Yaw Boateng Gyan secret tape, saying, “God have mercy upon Ghana”.

In an interview on Oman FM, he said the NDC game-plan had the potential of throwing the country into confusion and demanded that the National Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Yaw Boateng Gyan, be invited by the Police for questioning.

He had earlier told the host of the programme that the Ghana Peace Council, on whose board he serves as chairman, had not deliberated on the tape and so he was reacting in his capacity as a responsible citizen of this country.

The revelations, he pointed out, were worrying. “I have just read in the papers about Yaw Boateng Gyan admitting that the voice is his. We have all been praying for peace in this country, especially as it concerns the forthcoming elections.”

The NDC Organiser was caught on tape promising to help party foot-soldiers to infiltrate the country’s security agencies under the guise of Special Forces to promote the agenda of the ruling party and if trouble occurred, they would then heap the blame on the opposition NPP, particularly its flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Rev Asante said he disputed the authenticity of the tape when he heard it earlier, until the admission by the National Organiser.

“If a responsible person like Yaw Boateng Gyan can engage others in a room with a view to plunging Ghana into confusion, it is worrying,” he said.

“I would be surprised at those who show indifference at such a matter. It is awful putting such persons in the security agencies to undertake bad missions and heap the blame on other parties. It is bad.”

He said it was frightening to imagine that people could infiltrate the security agencies with ulterior motives as contained in the tape.

“Such things have the potential of eroding confidence in the security agencies. It is something all citizens of this country must condemn. As I have always said we have only one country. Power is for ensuring the security and peace of the country,” he said.

If power was sought to plunge the country into war, God have mercy on Ghana, he said. He went on to isolate a portion of the tape which talked about how a certain mischievous action would be attributed to another political party. “Although the NPP was not singled out but rather the NDP, it really does not matter. Whether it is party B or C, inflicting such a deed on another party is not good. Is this Watergate being re-enacted in this country?

“All we have to do as citizens is to be vigilant,” he said.

Confidence in the security agencies was waning, he observed, adding that “in a country where every action of the security agencies is given a political coloration, such things do not augur well for the image of these agencies. We are giving room for such perceptions. I am worried.”

The citizens of Ghana should not entertain the contents of the tape and “the Police should invite Yaw Boateng Gyan for questioning about the contents. The Police should come clear about it and assure the people of this country about their sincerity in this whole thing.

“Let the Police investigate the matter as demanded by a group which went to the Police headquarters earlier. Politicians should be mindful about their activities lest they plunge the country into chaos. What happened to other countries can be replicated here,” he said.

In a related development, former Attorney General and Justice Minister, Nii Ayikoi Otoo has said he is more concerned about the criminality in the whole thing.

When two or more persons meet to discuss about how to undertake a criminal activity, it amounts to a conspiracy, which is, in itself, a crime, he said.