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Opinions of Monday, 11 July 2016

Columnist: Bokor, Michael J. K.

Is God revealing himself to only the NPP oriented people?

Folks, when I read news reports quoting the chief of Yamfo in the Brong-Ahafo region as saying that God had ordained Akufo-Addo to be Ghana's president, I cracked up, laughing myself lame.

It wasn't the first time that a chief or a so-called 'Man of God' would have made such noise about Akufo-Addo's political fate. We heard a lot of that sort before Election 2008 and 2012, which he lost ignominiously.

We also heard a lot about God's hands being upon Akufo-Addo to win the useless petition that the Supreme Court was being burdened needlessly to hear.

Some so-called 'men-of-God', led by the loquacious but empty-headed Rev. Owusu Bempah had even gone wild on a scare-mongering campaign to say that God would destroy Ghana if Akufo-Addo didn't win the petition hearing. What happened?

The truth of Election 2012 was reinforced by the Supreme Court to reduce their "prophecies" to absurdity. They were told that elections are won at the polls. That's a loaded message, which they should have learnt to help Akufo-Addo improve his strategies for politicking toward Election 2016.

Intriguingly, though, happenings to date have proved that they didn't learn any lesson taught them by the Supreme Court or the reality of the Ghanaian political dynamics. That explains why Akufo-Addo hasn't changed his tactics/strategies in any way and still running around in circles, seeking straw to hang on to.

Such straw has been provided by his allies in the Christian community and others invoking God's name just to sustain the NPP's flight into the transcendental for narrow political purposes. God has nothing to do with Ghanaian politics. it is the electorate who do, and they will vote according to their conscience in terms of what they perceive about the various candidates, especially the front-runners (President Mahama and Akufo-Addo).

That is why I find it increasingly ridiculous for all manner of people to be placating or massaging Akufo-Addo's ego with their invocation of God in his scheme to become Ghana's President "at all costs".

Indeed, in an opinion piece questioning why Akufo-Addo is so bent on exploiting religious sentiments for his political quests, I did establish that in our part of the world where any reference to God is seen as a sanctimonious reflection on the one doing the invocation, Akufo-Addo's fixation on religiosity speaks volumes of how desperate he is.

Having been to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to wail to God for no success, and now that his running mate (Dr. Mahamudu) has gone on the hajj to add his version to that element of religiosity, there is much ado about nothing going on as the dash for the mirage in the political horizon picks up steam.

God cannot be mocked.

Now, to the Yamfo chief's lamentations and vain trust in Akufo-Addo on the basis of God's hand in his political quests: The chief said all he wanted to and ended up justifying his stance, even daring his opponents to kill him for doing so.

To him, the hardships being suffered by him and his subjects, coupled with the expectation that an Akufo-Addo-led government would improve the lot of Yamfo, was enough for him to go the way he did.

If, indeed, he was confident that he had heard God's voice proclaiming Akufo-Addo and ordaining him as Ghana's President, why the fear for his life? Could he not regard himself as a prophet worthy of anything coming his way? Fearing for his life in this instance belies all the noise he made. He who fears shouldn't attempt anything earth-shaking.

If he was confident that what he was saying indeed came from his God, why fear for his life?

Many other chiefs like him (reference to the one in the Awutu area) who have invoked the names of the Supreme Deity or their local fetishes to proclaim Akufo-Addo as Ghana's President need fear any threat on their lives. After all, won't their "God" or "gods" be ready to protect them if, indeed, they were speaking for them?

Folks, isn't it interesting to view this recourse to God or religiosity from the other angle? I can't recall any instance in which any Man-of-God or chief ever told Ghanaians that God had ordained Jerry Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor, the late Atta Mills, and John Dramani Mahama as Ghana's President. But they won the elections and established themselves as such. Why can't it be so for Akufo-Addo too?

Even, the Great Osagyefo didn't rush to God for sustenance to be able to prevail over the nation-wreckers in the UGCC and UP working hard against him. Yet, he won the elections and ruled Ghana for 15 years!!

Your thoughts, my thoughts. Enough already of this inanity about God's role in our kind of politics to Akufo-Addo's benefit!! God will not push any voter to decide his fate on Election Day. It is his own character and the voters' perception of him as he has demonstrated all these years (which is the basis for their knowledge of who and what he is or can be if put in power) that will determine his fate.

God has no hand in anything, even if the so-called Christian noisemakers glibly pick a leaf from the Bible to say that it is God who appoints Kings!! In our case, it is the voters who do so. Why not prove to them what you are worth, Mr. Akufo-Addo?

Too much of the deceptive politics. Let the Yamfo chief know that he and his supporters haven't ever voted for the NDC in that part of Ghana, which is not strange. His invocation of God's name to whitewash Akufo-Addo will make any difference. So is it in the case of all electoral areas known as NPP strongholds whose chiefs are hitting the media waves with stale declarations of support for Akufo-Addo clothed in the name of God. Once they have purposed in their hearts to go the NPP way, they should do so and leave God out of it.

After all, the day of reckoning is approaching; and we shall all know what is to be known. The chorus about God and Akufo-Addo's fate is already irritating. It grates on the ears and must cease. If they have any beneficial contribution to make, they should tell Akufo-Addo what his inadequacies are and how to smooth his rough edges in the hope that the tide may turn in his favour. Not that I wish him well, though. Ofui......!!!!

(See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/God-has-ordained-Nana-Addo-to-be-president-Yamfo-chief-454020).

I shall return…

Writer's E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com