President Of Bar Association Stresses Need For Godly Leadership

Accra, (Greater Accra Region) 9 Oct., Mr. Samuel Awuku Okudzeto, President of the Ghana Bar Association(GBA), today stressed the need for Godly leadership if the nation is to move forward. Such leaders, he said, will not only seek the face of God for divine counsel, guidance and direction but will be open to ideas. Mr. Okudzeto made the call at the last in a series of the William Ofori-Atta Memorial Lectures held at the Teachers' Hall in Accra. The lectures, the fifth, were organized by the National Association of Evangelicals of Ghana(NAEG) under the theme: ''Ghana at crossroads: Forty years of Independence''. Mr Okudzeto listed hatred and bitterness against one another, corruption in high places, dishonesty, tribalism and apathy as some of the vices that militate against progress in the society. Mr Okudzeto whose topic was ''Ghana: A journey into time'', pointed out that unless Ghanaians re-tune their minds, behaviours, attitudes and conduct and shun all negative tendencies, there can be no rpt no progress and development. This is because, after forty years of independence, the same bad practices persist among Ghanaians. Mr Okudzeto reminded those in authority that they emerged from the masses and must, therefore, guard against avarice, selfishness, greed and ostentation and ensure that the nation's resources are enjoyed equally by all and sundry.

On unity, the GBA president pointed out that ''unless Ghanaians remove all tribal sentiments from their minds, do away with prejudices and biases against one another and become each other's keeper, we can never move forward as one people with a common destiny''. ''We should not discriminate against people because of the religion they profess, language they speak and the colour of their skins,'' he cautioned. Mr. Okudzeto said the tribal differences in the country which in his opinion has become a cancer will continue to ferment and plague the society if Ghanaians seriously do not rpt not re-examine their lives and remove it once and for all. Touching on the past leaders of this nation, Mr. Okudzeto regretted that most Ghanaians have idolized Nkrumah, Danquah and Busia to such an extent that they are seen as being infallible with ''cults'' being made out of them. He pointed out that...such names are irrelevant in our present circumstances and conditions, adding that in order not to repeat the mistakes of the past, those who idolize the nation's past heroes should come out boldly with programmes that will ensure its development and progress.