You are here: HomeOpinionsArticles2011 01 01Article 200457

Opinions of Saturday, 1 January 2011

Columnist: Gyimah, A. P.

Mr. President and Fellow Ghanaians, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

December 30th, 2010

Mr. President and Fellow Ghanaians, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

A Passage to Our New Decade of Hope

Your Excellency, respected traditional leaders of Ghana, fellow Ghanaians and foreign residents of our nation, John Chapter 3:3 says, and I quote, “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” My dear Ghanaians, unless we are born again, we cannot develop our nation. Unless the foreign residents are born again, we cannot grant them Ghanaian citizenship. Unless the prisoners are born again, we cannot request for pardon to get them released. Unless we are born again, our children and our women will never safe.

Over the last two years, I have been privileged to communicate with you regarding pertinent matters concerning our great nation. A day from now (GMT) and two days from now (Pacific Time), the year 2010 and the first decade of the 21st Century will come to an end. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for the good work done, with your cooperation in extending your helping hands in the areas I requested. I also want to remind you that the task ahead of us in the coming decade is enormous, but with determination and perseverance we shall overcome the fight to change the face of our great nation. Please let us all be born again and victory will be ours.
I, also, want to take this opportunity to ask all Ghanaians in and out of the country to join me to congratulate our former president Mr. John Agyekum Kuffour. In spite of the many difficulties that had been compounded over the decades of dictatorial rule, he was able to democratically lead us in the 21st Century until January 2009. His humble beginnings have taken us far. I believe Mr. John Agyekum Kuffour and his humble wife understand that there is more to do than what they were able to do in their eight- year meritorious service to our nation. Thank you very much Mrs. and Mrs. Kuffour.
Your Excellency, fellow countrymen and women, on midnight December 31st, 2010, we shall enter into the second decade of the 21st Century. This is the Ghanaians’ Decade of Hope (GDH). Entry into the GDH reinforces us to take stock of our achievements and shortfalls of the last three decades most of us Ghanaians know extremely well. This requires us to update our records, particularly our attitudes, behaviors, capabilities, skills, mannerisms, thoughts, mindsets, etc. to reflect the needs and aspirations of our national development. In this regard, nothing is more important than the development of peace and love for ourselves and our nation, respect for individuals’ rights, and respect for the law. In short, we need what I have termed “Ghanaian Peace Plan (GPP)”. GPP is the only way to the unity I have always stressed on anytime I communicated to you. The plan of violence, orchestrated by the few, that has lived with us for three decades is winding down on midnight of 31st December, to give room for GPP to take immediate effect.
Mr. President, traditional leaders of our country and my dear countrymen and women, under the GPP, political violence, disorganization of our youth into youth disturbances groups by greedy and notorious politicians, violent abuses of our national leadership that have lived with us over the last three decades by the few disgruntled people who have been very fortunate to be part of our Ghanaian society, must be the things of the past. The retraining of our security forces must be a major priority as well. That is to say that law enforcement will not be taken for granted and will be conducted without prejudice. For those who have a problem respecting the laws of our land they must desert the land before the commencement of the GDH - renounce the violence now, else …. Full details of the GPP will be submitted to our president in the first week of January 2011 for his study and implementation, if adopted. Soon thereafter the public will have their copy via the Media.

Once again, thank you very much indeed for your cooperation. I love you all. May God bless you all.

Mr. A. P. Gyimah