Independent Message from Rev. Osei-Amoah

The best 49th birthday gift we can present to Ghana is our consistent prayer for her well- being

I was in Middle School when Ghana achieved independence from the British on March 6, 1957. Those of us young people had high hopes that the age of political utopia was just at the corner. Our nation started well with substantial foreign exchange reserve to the extent that we were able to lend hard currency to some struggling African nations. The country had been ruled by governments with different kind of ideologies such as, socialism, military-dictatorship, and democracy. Unfortunately, years of political instability, economic difficulties, and the lack of the rule of law have retarded the progress of our nation. It is understandable that the people of Ghana have been expecting immediate change from the rulers of the land. While we have every right to expect our political leaders to make good their campaign promises before they were elected into office, there are many factors in today's world that militate against the rate at which we want to see complete progress come to our nation. These factors may come from within or outside the country. The negative factors that work against the progress of a nation such as Ghana may sometimes be powerful nations which control world economy. They organize international trade in such a way that they stand to gain both as buyers and sellers of commodities since they dictate the prices of items. In the past, some of these countries contributed to the instability of some nations that produced raw materials that were of strategic importance to them so that they could have uninterrupted supply of with they needed. When poor nations but rich in natural resources cannot earn enough revenue to meet the need of the people, the people suffer and that paves the way for military intervention supposedly to improve the lot of the majority of the populace. History has shown that the situation becomes worse as the people become poorer and also lose their liberty.

The internal factors that work against a nation may include illiteracy which keeps the people from using modern technology to improve their lot and to understand the problems that faces the nation. Corruption among some of the people entrusted with the use of the scarce resources to improve the lot of the masses leads them to divert the resources for personal use. It was an open secret that a leader of an African nation became a multimillionaire and acquired several properties in Europe while his nation was languishing in abject poverty. Only God knows who took over his assets in foreign lands when he died. Corruption and mismanagement can keep even some oil producing countries in perpetual poverty. Indiscipline and apathy among the populace can keep productivity low; ensure the destruction of national assets, and the unwillingness to contribute to improve the conditions of their own immediate environment. The effect of natural disasters occurring in poor nations of the world is devastating. Internal problems that are preventable but keep popping up in our dear country are communal conflict and chieftaincy disputes. It is amazing how people of the same family can destroy themselves, their properties, and leave their offspring to perpetuate the conflict. While nations of the world cannot deal with the Aids epidemic, the threat of bird flu is on the horizon. The negative factors are too many to mention in this article.

Why am I mentioning these negative factors which hinder national progress? The purpose of this article is to encourage God's children everywhere who have their roots in Ghana to pray for our nation. Next year our country will celebrate her 50 th anniversary as an independent nation. The Lord has granted the country peace. Since 1992 there have been several general elections to elect the political party to rule the nation. I believe in spite of the numerous problems facing Ghana, (which is true in many nations), we can say with Nehemiah of ancient Israel, "We shall arise and build". The condition of Jerusalem at that time was in terrible shape yet when the people made up their mind to build the walls of the city God helped them to do it and even built the temple. I believe our prayers for Ghana should be purposeful not generalized like "God bless Ghana". We need to pray for the political leaders for divine wisdom to rule the nation. King Solomon of Israel asked God for wisdom to rule His people. Fortunately, President Kuffour has asked on several occasions for believers to pray for his government. We need to mention the various arms of government: the executive, judiciary, and the legislative (of all the political parties represented in parliament). We should ask the Lord to maintain the peace in the nation and bring lasting solution to areas plagued by communal conflicts.

In our prayer time, we need to ask the Lord to bring His favor on our nation as she deals with her trading partners so that she will receive a fair deal. We should pray for people responsible to manage our natural resources to do so with sincerity. We need to remember as Ghanaian believers our prayers only effective as we make our light shine before the world. Happy 49 th anniversary to Our homeland Ghana!