A story, ‘Lady Professor Drops Gay Bombshell’, published by Daily Guide and reproduced by ghanaweb.com on Thursday the 3rd of November 2011 quotes one Prof Akosua Adomako Ampofo as saying that ‘although we may see homosexuality as evil there is no universal moral obligation to prevent all evil by any and all means that we may consider necessary.’
She questioned why so much attention has been paid to homosexuality since that is not the only sin being committed by humankind: ‘We are surrounded by crimes and sins daily that receive no comment, let alone a demonstration’, she lamented, naming plagiarism, electoral malpractices, lynching, child molestation, etc. as some of the crimes that are committed daily. ‘Gay people can be found in our families and churches – it might surprise some to know that some married men … [and] ministers of the gospel are secretly gay,’ she added.
It is quite clear that either the lady Professor has not familiarize herself with the nucleus of the homosexual debate going on in the country or she has completely lost track of the majority’s main argument or line of reasoning regarding the subject. The argument is not about who is and who is not a homosexual; it is not about when homosexual acts began in Ghana or in Africa; and Ghanaians are not interested in knowing what individuals do with their bodies in private. It is about whether or not same sex relationships should be legalized.
Sure, each and every individual has got his/her own weaknesses or shortcomings, and that is not a big deal. Some of these transgressions usually bring only shame, disgrace or dishonour upon the agent when exposed, e.g. fornication or adultery, womanizing, masturbation, prostitution, cigarette-smoking by female (no discrimination intended – the delicate nature of the female reproductive system makes smoking more harmful to women than men), homosexual acts, etc.; but others do not only bring shame and disgrace upon the offender when uncovered, but are also punishable by law, e.g. rape and paedophilia, theft and armed robbery, murder, arson, plagiarism, and many others. All these and several others are familiar offences or unacceptable acts committed by people in society.
However, public anger, antagonism and outcry are forcefully invoked when someone or a particular group of people gets up one day to demand the endorsement and protection of their sinful and indecent acts by the state – call it a licence to sin, all in the name of human rights. ‘If the palm branch had not been scratched, it wouldn’t have cracked’ as the Akan saying goes; in other words, there is no smoke without fire. Even though many Ghanaians were very much aware of the reality of homosexuality (including lesbianism) in Ghana, very little attention was paid to the issue until the deviants began a chain of demonstrations demanding constitutional recognition and protection of the so-called right to sodomize and ‘lesbianize’.
Nonsense! Can human language adequately describe the religious and moral decadence that the country would get stuck in if every Ghanaian were to call for and be granted the legalization and protection of their various indecent activities? I have always vehemently challenged and will continue to rubbish the assertion or so-called findings that some people are innately homosexuals or lesbians; it is man-made, pure and simple (this point will be justified in one of my subsequent articles). Even so, the fact that people find it difficult to overcome their moral frailties does not mean those deeds should be legalized.
Let homosexuals win their battle today, and tomorrow fornicators, female cigarette smokers, quick-tempered people, nude pole dancers, those who fancy polyandry, prostitutes, etc. will also be crying for the constitutional acknowledgment of their activities. How about armed robbers asking for the legal recognition and protection of their trade (of course they can also argue that their armed-robbery tendency is inborn)? Has Professor Ampofo ever thought about these scenarios? It is quite disappointing that many including some upper echelons of the academic world still do not get it.
It must however be emphasized that opposing the legal recognition of homosexual acts does not mean that society should lynch or persecute people found to be gays, just as one cannot be lynched for being a womanizer or fornicator; and it does not mean denying exposed gay people access to medical services, education, justice and the right to enjoy other socio-economic privileges. The nucleus of our argument is that homosexuality or same sex union just like polyandry (a woman with two or more husbands) and any other indecent act should not be granted legal recognition by the state because it is incompatible with our culture.
The professor posed the question as to why Ghanaians are not demonizing or crucifying other sinners (like child molesters, adulterers and plagiarists) as they are doing to homosexuals. The answer is simple and short: Because the other sinners including Prof Ampofo and Black Power are not hiding behind a facade of human rights to demand legalization and constitutional protection of their immoral and sinful acts; period. Let them stop that human rights nonsense, and the public outcry and antagonism towards them will diminish.
Have I made my point clear?
Emmanuel Sarpong Owusu-Ansah (Black Power)
Emmanuel Sarpong Owusu-Ansah (Black Power) is an investigative journalist in London, UK. He is the author of ‘Fourth Phase of Enslavement: unveiling the plight of African immigrants in the West’.
