A letter to Dr Ali Gabass

As I write this piece, tears flow down my checks, having remembered the unfortunate incident that led to your being incarcerated. Like a sacrificial lamb that was led to its slaughter house, you humbly accepted full responsibility for the consequence of your action!. What an unbridled courage!.

Dr. Sully Ali Gabass, a medical docter at Effia Nkwanta Hospital in Takoradi was convicted and jailed on July 13th 2015 for 25years for sodomising a 15year old boy a year earlier.

I have learnt a lot of useful lessons from this and so do you. First, we're all responsible for the consequences of what we do. Dr. Ali clearly showed this when he said "In fact, this guy (referred to the victim) lied to me, but I won't say that as an excuse". He said this to an invesgative journalist who interviewed him about the case. How many times have we not found excuses to justify our "right"?. How many times have we not jumped to the self-defense mechanism and played the cards of equalisation especially in this era of polarized political system, when accused?. This wasn't the case of Dr. Ali.

Second, it is said that men's bad deeds are written in brass, whilst the good ones are written in sand. It is left unto us to continuously do good all the time, so that our bad deeds don't get a place to be written in sand. To quote mother Teresa of Calcutta, she said;

"The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway".

A similar one attributed to Shakespeare was placed at the entrance of Dr. Ali. It states “SUCH IS LIFE: Men’s evil deeds are written on brass; the good ones on water. When I am right, no one remembers. When I am wrong, no one forgets.”

There is no doubt that Dr. Ali did a lot of good which were all wiped off by a single act. He is an obstetrician and gynaecologist. He definitely safed lives and promoted health. He's also a benevolent. He was a breadwinner in an extended family and a source of financial support within and without.

Third, we're all infallible and the failure(s) of other persons shouldn't be a foundation for our strengths or joy as we seek to unjustifiably condemn, criticise and "crucify". Every saint was once a sinner. And every sinner can become a saint. Remember Dr. Ali and all other prison inmates in prayers, not for been in prison, but to overcome the challenges surrounding them. It's clear that Dr. Ali was surrounded by a lot of psychological instabilities i.e depression, owing to pressure from family, etc.

Fourth, in this ecosystem of our human society in which we live, whatever affects one, affects the other. It will be selfish only to start wetting our own beards or putting water by our side when a neighbour's beards is on fire. Rather, we should help the one whose own is on fire first. Dr. Ali had a dream to build a private hospital that would serve the purposes of providing health, curing diseases and illnesses to a lot of people. That dream is short-lived because he's spending 25years in prison and may retire in prison!. Another issue is, what happens to the good works he was doing at Effia Nkwanta Hospital?. Who takes charge?. These are issues to ponder over. These are the reasons why it is not only about Dr. Ali Gabass, but a concern and worry to many.

This is neither to applaud or commend Dr. Ali for an act of commission which society frowns on and considers unusual and unacceptable, as he himself admitted. Nor, does it seek to offer sympathy for him. It is to unravel the useful lessons from it as of life. Such is life. Life is a mixture of good and bad. The bad aspect shouldn't erode the good side from memories. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you will do things differently.” Warren Buffett. Continue to do good.