Opinions of Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Columnist: Amankwah, Nana Kofi
We all know time is of the essence for a new administration. It is vital to be able to act quickly and decisively to put things in the right place to do people’s business. However, during the 2008 presidential campaign across the country Attah Mills declared himself as a man of peace who will do everything in his power to use peace as a prerequisite to solve domestic dilemmas. Mills went on to promise Ghanaians that he will be a president for all Ghanaians regardless of one’s political affiliations even those who did not support his presidential bid.
After one and a half months in office, the man who declared himself as a peacemaker has instructed his cronies to go after his political opponents to harass and intimidate them. Just to prove to Ghanaians that he now has the hegemonic powers not only to shut down Grace Omaboe, Peace and Love orphanage home; as it is popularly known as Maame Dokono home but also to tell Ghanaians who got what. The decision of Attah Mills to close this orphanage home in Accra Adanta and leave destitute these children who are being taken care by a private citizen who has been an advocate for children for decades is an insult to all Ghanaians especially the Christians. The question is: how many NDC elites who have stolen government money have shared their wealth with the needy in our country to open orphanage homes in Ghana? We all know the answer—zero.
The NDC founder Jerry John Rawlings who was an army officer who could not pay for his own meals. After 19 good years in office he used the people’s wealth to enrich himself and send all his own children to the United Kingdom for better education and live to an affluent lifestyle. This Rawlings and his wife could not even help the children who are in need in Ghana by opening a place like the Peace and Love orphanage for Ghanaian kids who have been neglected by their parents. Now Rawlings has the audacity to use his political influence behind Attah Mills’s administration for this senseless political act of closing down a place for these kids who are not fortunate. The NDC guru ET Mensah the chief instigator who also stole a lot of our nation’s money has sent all his children to America ( Maryland ). He did not use the tax payer’s monies he stole to help Ghanaians who are in need but rather used his political muscle on people he calls his political enemies to be punished for his stupidity. Majority NDC members who are behind this political attack think Ghanaians are foolhardy because we have forgotten what they did to Ghanaians when they were in power from 1980 into 1990’s.
How on earth can a political party like the NDC who preached on social issues not use their common sense and realize that people who use their generosity to help society should not be victimized based on political associations. Someone like Grace OMaaboe who has sacrificed her time and her fortunes to help the nation by opening the orphanage home should not be treated as an outcast for some one’s sordid political agenda. We all remember Grace Omaaboe when she was an NDC member. She said some negative things to the NPP, but even so, when Kufour came to office he did not harass her or close down her orphanage home. If Grace Omaaboe were operating her peace and love orphanage with expires, license all that the department of social welfare should have done is to renew it but not to close down the orphanage home simple for some incidents that happened in the facility which Grace Omaaboe did not instigate. (A kid sodomized six month old baby). As a result of the NDC administration decision on these matters I urge all Christians in the country to join forces and fight these NDC sycophants to reopen the orphanage home. Christians should not sit back quietly and allow this political nonsense to continue. As the Bible says in the book of Joshau 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee; Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee where ever thou goest”. Some Christians in Ghana cannot speak out on behalf of these children because of the violent past of the NDC but that should not be the case as Christians. Instead of Attah Mills and his NDC administration showing some respect and tolerance------ no matter how much they dislike Grace Omaaboe---- towards her generosity for these children they took draconian measures to close down the Peace and Love orphanage home, a home that provides living accessibility for these children who are in need of this facility. This is an unconstitutional and autocratic decision against our human rights and clear abuse of office.
From: Nana Kofi Amankwah (New York)