Ghanaian Politicians: Don't Lead Us Down ...

.... A Path Ending In A Boko Haram Hell On Earth

By Kofi Thompson

No matter how innocent the motive, it is such a pity that a place of worship in the Accra suburb of Madina was allowed to be turned into an arena for seeking votes, by a politician campaigning to win power in Ghana.

As a people, if we want to avoid the difficulties nations like Nigeria, Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan are experiencing today, as a result of religious differences, let us ensure that all places of worship in our homeland Ghana remain sacred ground, free from politics: where all can worship in peace.

We must, at all costs, avoid a situation in which the separation of the religious sphere from that of the political is blurred - and Machiavellian individuals, for whom the end invariably justifies the means, cynically manipulate religious leaders in their quest for what after all is mere temporal-power.

The handlers of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) presidential candidate's running mate, Dr. Bawumia, let him down badly, in asking him to make what amounted to a campaign speech, to Muslims gathered to worship Allah in a mosque.

It is vital that our nation learns a lesson from the violence that erupted in Hohoe recently. It is evidence of how, in certain situations, religion can make sane individuals lose their self-control - as herd instinct triggered by religious fanaticism, made normally law-abiding residents of Hohoe's Zongo, momentarily mad.

If the genie of religious fanaticism is let loose, many more Hohoes will erupt around our country. To avoid that catastrophe, let us make places of worship neutral ground, free of politics. Ensuring that lies in the hands of all Ghana's religious leaders.

After cynically resurrecting nation-wrecking tribalism for political ends, and exposing Ghana to its manifold dangers, we must not allow our political class to also unwittingly lead our nation on a path that could possibly end in an apocalyptic Boko Haram hell-on-earth. A word to the wise...

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Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com