Church leaders have lost focus - NDC youth organiser

Cape Coast, April 13, 2005 (Chronicle)-- THE CENTRAL Regional NDC Youth Organizer, Mr Adams Kofi, has described the group of church leaders who had asked former President Rawlings to apologize to President Kufuor in the alleged linkage of the presidency to Ataa Ayi, a notorious armed robber, as a group of frustrated leaders who have lost focus on the real issues.
He has also accused them of acting as propaganda machinery for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Administration, adding that their action was tantamount to hypocrisy of the highest order, which did not augur well for true democracy in the country.
The NDC youth leader launched these attacks on the clergy when he called at The Chronicle?s office on Monday, this week.
The Most Rev. Justice Akrofi, the Anglican Bishop of Accra and Archbishop of Province of West Africa, Most Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye Mensah, the Presiding Bishop of Methodist Church, Rt. Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong Manso, the Moderator of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, and Apostle Dr. Micheal Ntumy, the Chairman of the Pentecost, issued a pastoral letter last week, urging Mr. Rawlings to render unqualified apology to President John Agyekum Kufuor for linking him to Ataa Ayi, a notorious armed robber who was arrested recently by the police.
According to Adams Kofi, ?if those men of God were meant to ensure proper reconciliatory moves between the two eminent personalities they would not have taken sides by urging one to apologize to other.
?They have lost focus because what they have done is far from right to the fact that they have now become propagandists for the ruling government. If indeed, they were trying to talk about the allegations of ex-President Rawlings equating President Kufuor to Ataa Ayi, the notorious armed robber, which implies that the President is an armed robber, I think there are several issues that had gone on in the country, which they should have commented on.?
Explaining further, the youth organizer said the church leaders were only issuing pastoral or apostolic letters to please the government, not that they had any good intentions to reconcile the two.
He recalled that the religious bodies had met the former president before, and pondered why they failed to implement what he asked them to do, only for them to ask him to apologise for the ?Kufuor nie Ataa ayi nie? statement.
Continuing, Adams Kofi wondered whether the church leaders bothered to know if President Kufuor was implementing the constitutional requirements with regard to the privileges and courtesies of the former president and Prof. Mills, former vice president, only for them to run amok asking Rawlings to apologise.
?By a stroke of a minister?s pen, privileges of the former president were withdrawn. And if men of God want to talk about issues, they should do so with facts and not based on their political lineage. They have exhibited their hypocritical nature of the highest, order which does not augur well for Ghana,? the visibly charged youth organizer went on.
He said in 2000, President Kufuor, then in opposition, described an increase in petroleum prices as criminal and insensitive and which increased poverty levels among Ghanaians, so if the same missile is being fired at him today, he should not be worried and complain to church leaders to sanction those people, although the presidency must be respected.
According to Adams Kofi, he was very surprised that the government and its appointees as well as church leaders were fuming at ?Kufuor nie, Ataa Ayi nie? because they were in the country when Isaac Edumadze, the Central Regional Minister, described Prof. Mills as a chamber pot.
He also attacked the church leaders for remaining silent over Alhaji Mobila, the Convention People?s Party chairman, who died in military custody in the wake of the 2004 elections in Tamale.
The NDC youth organizer has therefore appealed to the Catholic Bishops Convention and Islamic Religious groups to intervene and reconcile the two personalities, who he noted represent two traditions, which have huge followers.

Cape Coast, April 13, 2005 (Chronicle)-- THE CENTRAL Regional NDC Youth Organizer, Mr Adams Kofi, has described the group of church leaders who had asked former President Rawlings to apologize to President Kufuor in the alleged linkage of the presidency to Ataa Ayi, a notorious armed robber, as a group of frustrated leaders who have lost focus on the real issues.
He has also accused them of acting as propaganda machinery for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Administration, adding that their action was tantamount to hypocrisy of the highest order, which did not augur well for true democracy in the country.
The NDC youth leader launched these attacks on the clergy when he called at The Chronicle?s office on Monday, this week.
The Most Rev. Justice Akrofi, the Anglican Bishop of Accra and Archbishop of Province of West Africa, Most Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye Mensah, the Presiding Bishop of Methodist Church, Rt. Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong Manso, the Moderator of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, and Apostle Dr. Micheal Ntumy, the Chairman of the Pentecost, issued a pastoral letter last week, urging Mr. Rawlings to render unqualified apology to President John Agyekum Kufuor for linking him to Ataa Ayi, a notorious armed robber who was arrested recently by the police.
According to Adams Kofi, ?if those men of God were meant to ensure proper reconciliatory moves between the two eminent personalities they would not have taken sides by urging one to apologize to other.
?They have lost focus because what they have done is far from right to the fact that they have now become propagandists for the ruling government. If indeed, they were trying to talk about the allegations of ex-President Rawlings equating President Kufuor to Ataa Ayi, the notorious armed robber, which implies that the President is an armed robber, I think there are several issues that had gone on in the country, which they should have commented on.?
Explaining further, the youth organizer said the church leaders were only issuing pastoral or apostolic letters to please the government, not that they had any good intentions to reconcile the two.
He recalled that the religious bodies had met the former president before, and pondered why they failed to implement what he asked them to do, only for them to ask him to apologise for the ?Kufuor nie Ataa ayi nie? statement.
Continuing, Adams Kofi wondered whether the church leaders bothered to know if President Kufuor was implementing the constitutional requirements with regard to the privileges and courtesies of the former president and Prof. Mills, former vice president, only for them to run amok asking Rawlings to apologise.
?By a stroke of a minister?s pen, privileges of the former president were withdrawn. And if men of God want to talk about issues, they should do so with facts and not based on their political lineage. They have exhibited their hypocritical nature of the highest, order which does not augur well for Ghana,? the visibly charged youth organizer went on.
He said in 2000, President Kufuor, then in opposition, described an increase in petroleum prices as criminal and insensitive and which increased poverty levels among Ghanaians, so if the same missile is being fired at him today, he should not be worried and complain to church leaders to sanction those people, although the presidency must be respected.
According to Adams Kofi, he was very surprised that the government and its appointees as well as church leaders were fuming at ?Kufuor nie, Ataa Ayi nie? because they were in the country when Isaac Edumadze, the Central Regional Minister, described Prof. Mills as a chamber pot.
He also attacked the church leaders for remaining silent over Alhaji Mobila, the Convention People?s Party chairman, who died in military custody in the wake of the 2004 elections in Tamale.
The NDC youth organizer has therefore appealed to the Catholic Bishops Convention and Islamic Religious groups to intervene and reconcile the two personalities, who he noted represent two traditions, which have huge followers.