We foresaw the germination of the seed of religious disharmony sowed by some diabolical elements long before the trading of statements between representatives of the two great faiths commenced recently.
It is rueful, unfortunate and sad that a fresh dimension is being added to our litany of governance challenges in a country which has suffered its worst moments in contemporary times.
President Mahama should have made consultations with representatives of the Christian and Islamic faiths before his ‘State of the Nation’ address mention of the Hijab issue.
The President, by his action which some consider as populist, has worsened the state of the country.
We are confronted with the looming danger of a clash of faiths – something which can only lead to mistrust among citizens: nobody wins or benefits from such a despicable situation.
Whoever thinks they can draw political leverage by sowing seeds of discord among Ghanaians should think twice because the people of this country would not accept anything which can disturb the peace they have always enjoyed.
Whoever is behind this latest dirty manoeuvre intended to divide the people of this country must be ashamed, especially since it is a project from which no dividends would be achieved both in the short and long terms.
We owe it as a duty – all of us as Ghanaians – to maintain the cohesion of this country and to turn our backs on those who think they can manipulate their compatriots just so their parochial interests would be attained.
We dreaded the commencement of the trading of statements by clerics from the great faiths, but unfortunately, the reckless handling of a delicate, sensitive and volatile subject as religion has led us to the starting line of a religious disharmony, the flames of which must be extinguished with all the force at our disposal.
It is our prayer that the inflammable subject politicians have brought to the front burner would be denied the oxygen that would stoke it.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference has issued a statement which is a snub to the president, following which is a response from the Islamic faith: this is as unnecessary as it is avoidable.
It is even worrying that this brouhaha is coming at the heels of an unnecessary ethnocentric project initiated by the President’s lieutenants.
Both are sensitive subjects which can truncate the peace we have taken for granted for ages now: we dread a reversal of the status quo.
We recall with trepidation the dangerous fallouts from Derrick Adjei’s “Ga land is for Gas” campaign against former President John Agyekum Kufuor and Akans.
It is uncalled for in a country where religious and ethnic harmony have never been in short supply since the Gold Coast, and later Ghana, came into existence.
We have suffered enough of inconveniences from the intractable dumsor, dumsor and would be unable to countenance the addition of ethno-religious disharmony. Honestly, that would be too much to countenance.
Let the President reconsider the unfolding project and rein his hot-headed extremists because a boomerang effect awaits whoever stokes the fire.
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