Opinions of Tuesday, 30 October 2012

Columnist: Quaye, Stephen A.

Do Not Start One Mr. President.

By: Stephen A.Quaye.

The news that President John Dramani Mahama, has charged some heads of senior high schools not to force Muslim students into Christian worship is making one feel shaky as it could serve as a base to create tension between the two sides.
Already, both Christians and Muslims co-exist in the country as brothers and sisters therefore urging all sides to continue to co-exist to maintain peace and order in the country would have been better than what he said recently.
President John Mahama, was reported by Joy News as expressing his worry over what he called compelling and forcing Muslim students to go to church and observe Christian faith as against their Muslim faith which the constitution frowns on.
The report went further to say he has appealed to heads of institutions that are doing that to stop it as he has charged the director of education to send circulars to all the institutions as he said this whiles addressing Eid-ul-Adha festival at Accra last Friday.
The president has spoken but I beg to differ that Mr. President was crying in horror that such alleged practice of heads of institutions “compelling and forcing Muslim students to observe Christian faith should stop”.
Not long ago the president joined the clergy who cried that the social vices as well as the immoral acts being committed every day should stop.
Mr. President and his able men were crying in horror that those crimes should stop but in fact they have set aside what is the pure solution for the problems which is the ten commandments and have adopted self style living,” freedom of rights” which is the result of these crimes.
For instance, there are doubtful minds that the youth of today would grow to become better future leaders who will maintain peace and order. Of course they have to doubt because the present day youth are throwing insults left right and center, involving themselves in rape, seduction, ritual murders, fraud, and official corruption thereby creating tension and fear in the system.
Therefore if various heads of institutions have realized the danger ahead and have taken up the challenge to properly mould our youth by first letting them humble themselves and cry to God to stop the evil forces from unjustly usurping power over the country you call that compelling and forcing one to observe a different faith?
We should not forget that most of this basic schools as well as senior high schools and even most of the higher learning institutions were all established by the missionaries based on Ten Commandments which teaches our children Christian principles and a better way of living all based on the Ten Commandments.
It is time the president be made aware that no free nation can endure without public morality-and in turn, there can be no public morality in exclusion of religious principle.
“No nation in history has survived that legitimized sodomy and gross sexual excess. No nation has survived whose leaders plundered future generations to ensure their continuance in power.
“No nation has survived that refuses to pass on to its history, traditions and moral standards to its youth. No nation can survive that cannibalizes its unborn for its own conveniences” which are all frowned by the Ten Commandments.
Where do we teach the youth about all these and the need for them to stay clear from which does not help build a nation? You are right in our schools therefore if students are being asked to attend church service on campus to learn about moral uprightness can we say is against the constitution?
If Ghana the land of gold was established on the foundations of God, which is clearly stated in the national anthem,” God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong”, then we are obliged to live according to his principles which are also clearly spelt out in the Ten Commandments.
These institutional heads as I know never prevent Muslim students from having their prayers five times in a day on campus once they know they are Muslims. Several institutions have Muslim unions on campus where members meet and discuss issues that affect their wellbeing and how to improve and they dialogue with other religious bodies.
Every institution has its own prospectus which spell out its religious activities based on its missionary principles that binds every student such as attending church service on Sundays when admitted and one has to abide by it.
Here was the president trying to tell Muslim students to defy the rules and regulations laid out by these missionary institutions to bring about moral uprightness in our youth by not attending church services because they are from different faith?
No but he should be reminded of the proverb which advices that the devil finds work for the idle hands. Here if the students stay out of campus church service what do you think they will be doing?
Jumping the school walls and get to town to drink alcohol, chase women, gang rape other student girls, rob at gun point, highjack cars, gamble, attend dance and cinema shows because they would be bored and will be under no control? Of course that will happen as we all need to prevent.
So on such occasion whiles the country is crying in horror that the social vices should stop it would be appropriate for the president to pat the shoulders of these heads of institutions for bringing our youth closer to God instead of creating the religious differences.
End.