The Politics Of Orthodox And Ahmadiyya Muslims In Wa

The political and religious temperature is fast boiling in Wa municipal. 2008-2012 tested our weak political and religious credentials in the Wa municipality. We involved in political violence and overthrow of ministers and religious violence to some extent, what about this time round. The question is who really care about this.

Sometime there are subtitles underlying factors which determine and controlled our behaviors. These are called “unconscious motivation”. We need to be aware of them for any lasting solution to what is a potential cause of catastrophe.
Among the cause of the current religioustension is lack of trust and enmity between Orthodox and Ahmadiyya Muslims in Wa municipal resulting to insults and attacks. Charles Gaul on Winston Churchill said “when I am right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong’’. We are angry at each other much of the time. Many reasons underlie our insults and hatred here. There is inordinate ambition for superiority among the two Muslims factions. There is nothing wrong with living normally like any other part of Ghana devoid of religious factions and tension than mere altruism.

The stake seems very high among the two religious divisions in the region. On one hand is the apprehension over the management and leadership of political positions, public offices, leadership positions and it contribution to the favored religion’s fortunes or doom.

I must say that our hatred among each other makes us subordinate and inferiors in whatever field we found ourselves. The seeking of political leadership or position like, Regional Minister, Municipal Chief Executive, Member of Parliament and the rest is always competition and mad rash between Orthodox and Ahmadiyya Muslims in Wa, all the political parties members hate to see it religious opponent occupying a political or leadership position.

In the year 2009, when the NDC came to power, Hon. Mahamoud Khalid was appointed as the upper west regional minister, who is an Ahmadiyya Muslim, his religious opponent protested against him, made comments against him, and even sent series of letters to castle for his removal from office as the regional minister. Allegations were raised that, the award of contracts, accessibility of the office of the minister and support were reaching only Ahmadiyya Muslims. One day frantic supporters of the party besiege the offices of regional minister at RCC and precious tender documents were taken from his office and were burned at the party regional office and press conferences were held in protest for his removal from office.When the minister was removed, the president appointed Hon. Alhaji Issahaku Salia as the upper west regional minister, his story is not different from that of his predecessor. But nothing bad is ever said about the deputy upper west regional minister who a native Jawia in the Sissala west constituency and Christian by religion. We never care about whom is performing and can develop the region but rather interested in which religion he or she belongs to. The question isARE WE FIGHTING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION OR WE ARE
FIGHTING FOR OUR RELIGIOUS INTEREST?

With this in and out of ministers as a result of abhorrence and misconstrue between Orthodox and Ahmadiyya Muslims, finally end on Hon Alhaji Amin Amidu Suleman who was an Ambassador far away to Saudi Arabiawas reshuffled to become the upper west regional minister. Both Hon. Amin Amidu Suleman and Karle Caesar, the minister and his deputy are natives of Jawia in the Sissala West constituency they are Sissala and Dagaati by tribe respectively. However, Hon. Mahamoud Khalid and Hon. Alhaji Issahaku Salia who are natives of Wa couldn’t finished their terms of office as upper west region minister, I then ask myself is this what we want as people of Wa? Is it not an insult on us? We must wake up and stop this politics of egocentrism.

I remember the greatest president of the united state, Abraham Lincoln, when Abraham Lincoln was running for president of the united state, there was aman who ran all around the country talking about Lincoln, a lot of unkind things. And sometimes he would get to the point that he would even talk about his look, saying, “you don’t want tall, lanky, ignorant man like this as a president of the united state. “He went on and on and went around with that type of attitude and wrote about it. Finally one day Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the united state. And if you read the biography of Lincoln, if you read the great work around him, you will discover that as every president comes to the point, he come to the point of having chosen a cabinet. And then come the time for him to choose a secretary of war. He look across the nation, and decided to choose a man by name Mr. Stanton. And when Abraham Lincoln stood around his advisors and mentioned this fact, they said to him: “Mr.Lincolnare you a fool”? Do you know what Mr.Stanton has been saying about you? Do you know what he has done? tried to do to you? Do you know that he has tried to defeat you on every hand? Do you know thatMr. Lincoln?

Have you read all of those derogatory statements that he made about you? Abraham Lincoln stood before the advisors around him and said: “oh yes, I know it; I read about it; I have heard him myself.But after looking over the country, I find that he is the best man for the job”

If you want to develop and the way is to be sure that you meet every situation of life with an abounding love. Never hate, because it ends up in tragic, neurotic responses, psychologist are telling us today that the more we hate, the more we develop guilt feelings and we begins to subconsciously repress or consciously suppress certain emotions and they all stack up in our subconscious selves and makes for tragic, neurotic responses, and may this not be the neuroses of many individuals as they confront life, that is an element of hate there. And modern psychology comes into being, the world’s greatest psychologist who walked around the hills of Galilee told us to love. He looked at men and said: “love your enemies; don’t hate anybody” it’s not enough for us to hate your friends because when you start hating anybody, it destroys the very center of your creative response to life and the universe; so love everybody. Hate at any point is a career that gnaws away at the very vital center of your life and your existence. It is like eroding acid that eats away the best and the objective center of your life. The prophet says love, because hate destroys the hater as well as the hated.

Political and religious leaders, especially those who spread the politics of hate for their own good, have to stop this irresponsible act because in an attempt to gain cheap political and religious gains here influenced others to follows theexamples.

All religious and political leaders should play part and immediate stop to any of their leaders who make hateful remarks and others against each other. This is because the masses do not like hate politics as it is an unhealthy and negative issue which affects the society and the nation as a whole.

Both political and religious leaders should have the social responsibility to be polite and honourable, therefore, as responsible leaders they should stop the spread of this unhealthy culture of hatred and vile words in order to create a moral and ethical society for the coming future. Playing politics on religious, sectarian and provincial grounds are harming the region.
Education which the government is trying bring to the door step of every citizen in Ghana is the most expensive and ravenous service rendered in Wa. Quality teachers posting to the various schools are determine by religious group which the school belongs to, learning materials and schools infrastructure provision in Wa is always a problem us to whether to send them to Orthodox or Ahmadiyya own schools.
Social utilities which are to be enjoyed by all citizens freely in the community are always restricted from innocent citizens in the community due to the politics of Orthodox and Ahmadiyya Muslims. It is always a fight and misunderstanding us to where to construct a toilet, borehole, school and the rest in Wa, because of where it is to constructed whether to the benefit of Orthodox Muslims or Ahmadiyya Muslims.

This malevolence, odium and pessimistic attitude is chopping deeply on us from generation to generation, even the education level this politics of Orthodox and Ahmadiyya is still chasing us there, education institutions ranging from university, polytechnic, training college and even the basic level, students leadership position is always a question of Orthodox or Ahmadiyya Muslims, we politicize against each other.

Even the food and water to buy, store and markets we do shopping has a religious implications. These religious opponents, it is not common for them to transact business and render services to each other.With this attitude ‘tenabanbaanyeng’ can we really develop at all!
The holy Quran narrated that, Surah An-Nasir 110:853 says that ‘I worship not that which you worship, nor will you worship that which I worship, and I shall not worship that which you are worshipping, nor will you worship that which I worship, to you be your religion, and to me my religion’. We should not fight or hate amongst ourselves because of religion.

The Bible intimated that Mathew 6:54 says that ‘ I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you’.

All the ten regions that are in Ghana, have different religions uniting and moving forward, but why can’t we also do the same, what are our religious leaders, political leaders, opinion leader, chiefs and elders doing about this, we must wake up to eradicate this malignancy.

As a social commentator it is part of my responsibility to give an insight and analysis of the current situation in Wa and if there is any remedy to this canker it should be settled accordingly to the law and not throw threats.

Long live upper west region
Long live Ghana.

SEIDU SAMAD
The writer is a graduate of Wa Polytechnic, School Of Business, Department Of Accountancy Studies.
E-mail: samad_seidu@yahoo.com
Tel: 0206653517/0541036700
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