One word that amuses me most in my life is the word “God”. My attention has moved from whether God exist or not, to how people interpret and relate with God.
I recall the War in Libya when both side of the war were calling on the same God to destroy the other, in their favour. So while the Gaddafi faction were appealing to God to kill all the opposition based in Benghazi, the opposition were equally invoking the same God to kill all the people siding with Gaddafi based in Tripoli. How amusing is this same God that both the good and evil side call on to act in their favours?One thing that became very clear to me, after travelling widely across West Africa and Europe, where I lived and work, is the difference on how people conceptualize God. The West African conception of the monotheistic God is totally different from the European conception of the same monotheistic God.
While the majority of Europeans have matured into understanding God in the expression of the existence of their state as a supreme sovereign being, than the existence of some supernatural body living somewhere beyond the clouds, the average West African still lives in the delusions of yester years with the conception of God in other things, than the supreme existence of their state as a sovereign being. The European therefore idiolises his or her state and worship the laws of this state, while the West African hide behind spirituality to idiolise petty items and does everything to flaunt the laws of his or her state, making all the laws of the West African countries worthless.
Most people would have preferred the title of this article to read as “The God of Obinim Versus the God of Ghana, if such choice was given. So instead of framing the question as, the God of Ghana and the God of Obinim, which one is practically in charge of the administration of Justice within the territorial jurisdiction of Ghanaian authority, I opted for the God of NDC (National Democratic Congress) against the God of Obinim. Which ever party we associate with God, the fact is both Obinim and NDC are actively in the News, making headlines on whose God is really in charge of Ghanaians.
It is fact a that God is abstract, and so manifest himself through living things and non living things. It is vrty intetesting that humans have lay right to the claim of ‘the chosen ones of God’, to interpret and carry out his wishes. It is also the case with God that every vagabond is free to lay claim of acting on God’s behalf, by their self acclaim preferred will of God, to carry out action over something. Most people refer to this act of their ‘self conceived’ God as justice. Another thing about God is, he has laws that are subject to interpretation, which those who lay claim of being God’s most favoured priests and therefore more godly, use to control the flocks of God.
“God Bless our Homeland Ghana” tells every Ghanaian that God indeed exist but the contention has been, which God and how? The contentions around the definition of ‘which God and how’ explains why every Dick and Hurry today base their neferious action on their version of the conception of God.
This ambiguities around which of the definitions of God the Ghana National Anthem, is commanding every Ghanaian to be obedient to, has made almost everyone of us vulnerable and prey on by all sorts of ‘men of God’.
The role of being a ‘Men of God’ is now a big time business in Ghana. Being a man of God is now an alternative to those who hide behind political party powers, to get away with murder. Being a ‘Man of God’ in Ghana is just as good as being God himself. One can get away with anything in Ghana, if one is able to convince the vulnerable populace to accord him or her their passive mandate for such authority. This cheap approach to be above the laws of the state of Ghana, by coming up with a parallel law to the state’s laws, is the reason why every rogue in Ghana is now a ‘Man of God’.
The painful part is, eighty percent of those assuming this role are stark illiterate themselves, who assume unimaginable fame over night, by being ‘Men of God’. It is a way out, for the low of the lowest of Ghanaians, to redeem themselves out of abject socio-eco-political entrapment, to start rubbing shoulders with the political elite Kings and queens of Ghana. The worse is, the use of Twi these days as the official lingua franca of Ghana, in place of the official English language, is making this so called men of God in Ghana more of ethno-tribal psychism.
The radio and the TV stations are now freely polluted with these ethno-tribal psychos, propagating all sorts of lies and laying false claim on power over all sorts of unimaginable things, without any sort of decency. All excused under the misinterpretation of the holy “Freedom of Expression” while the state turn blind eye to open psychological abuse of its vulnerable citizens. Of course no one suggest strict state censorship of freedom of expression, association or speech, but this is a joke gone too far!!
Now, regardless.to whatever anyone chooses as the definition of God, the entity must have the following characteristics. It must possess an overall authority of knowledge on everything. The entity must have his own laws that prevail over all other laws. The entity must have the final say on anything and must have the sole choice of being the grantor of all mercy. All the above must be certain about this God.
The test of which God is the most powerful, of all conceptions of Gods, depends on the enforcement of laws of such God. Since God do not enforce his own laws and authority but does this through his appointees, Obinim, John Dramani Mahama and Ghana, are having the laws of their Gods being put to test these few days.
In carrying out the laws of the God of Obinim, he was recently caught on camera carrying out justice on behalf of his God, after he has heard all the cases laid before him and arrived at a conclusion assume to be in accordance with will of God. The laws of the God of Obinim was clearly rivalry the laws of the God of Ghana by which Obinim arrogated unto itself the right over life and death.
The Constitution of Ghana eas clear on the thr authority over life and death of any Ghanaian by arrogating such power of intentionally killing any Ghanaian or sparing the life. This Constitutional power was clearly placed in the hand of the President of Ghana. This power of the law of the state of the God of Ghana justify the basis in allowing the president, on behalf of the Constitution to declare a war on anyone, within or outside Ghana.
It was however strange that Obinim was invited by the Ghana Police service, acting on behalf of the God of Ghana, to clarify himself on violating the laws of the God of Ghana. Strange enough, Obinim found himself being charged with offences against the laws of Ghana, than what was contained on the famous video clip, where he was caught flogging Ghanaians in public for adultery, by the instruction of and on behalf, of his God.
The interesting things about this development are; Obinim still think it is business as usual with the state authority turning blind eye to his hoax. He was caught on camera playing pranks gaining an act of calling on his petty self disslusioned misconceived god. It is also important to notice that the very victims that Obinim is administering the justice of his god unto, see nothing wrong with the form of justice and so, are blaming the God of Ghana’s agents of law for arresting the arrogant pastor who is alsmot calling himself God.
There is also the case of the confused members of the media who are justifying Obinim action as righteous, if not for where the act was carried out. So some members of the media are saying, this would have been alright if Obinim had carried out his godly act secretly, without the laws of God of Ghana seeing that it’s laws are being violated. Thus, the Domestic Voilence Department mandated by the Government of Ghana laws means nothing to the nation’s media.
The most stupid ones are those who were brave to follow Obinim to the police station. These bunch of illiterates are not aware that you do not follow police invitee to the police station if you are not a lawyer, immediate family member or an accomplice. These individual blindly accompanied an allerge criminal to the police station and ended up as accomplices to the crime. I only hope the followers of Obinim are not following him blindly but reading the Bible with their minds open, as well. We clearly read in the same Bible that the Disciples of Jesus Christ understood the gospel enough to stand away, when the process of crucifixion started, which saved them from being accomplices. Sure these ones will hopefully be learning more about the bible well in prison, to know what they failed to learn before they ended up in the trap of the real law.
Well, we don’t know whether President John Dramani Mahama will again use Article 72 of the Constitution of Ghana to grant Obinim clemency, after the Court of Law has sentence him to imprisonment, for violating the laws of the God of Ghana. Why should anyone be surprise, since the same president just ose his wisdom to grant the Muntie Trio a Presidential Pardon? Well, some might doubt Obinim will not be getting such favour because the Muntie Trio were openly fighting for the NDC course, on behalf of the NDC God and by NDC laws, while Obinim is fighting for a different God. The blame one will put on Obinim is, he was clearly not fighting for the course of the God of NDC or God of Ghana but instead, violating and disregarding the laws of the God of Ghana.
This then leave us with the question of whether the Muntie Trio were fighting for the course of the God of Ghana or for the God of the NDC? If the consensus is, the Muntie three are fighting for the course of the NDC, then the follow up question will be, is the course of the state of Ghana the same as the course of the NDC political party, for the President and the head of state to side with the course of the Muntie Trios?
Since most people will agree that the President sided with his political party who openly mounted pressure on him to act in their favour, at the expense of the intetrst of the state of Ghana, one can say the president acted by the laws of NDC than the laws of the God of Ghana. Again if almost 80% of the NDC active members were openly behind the pressure of getting the president to side with them against the position of the state, one will then start the question of whether the NDC as a political party to the president, comes first, before the state of Ghana’ interest? Sure such question might sound stupid as the same person is the head of state of Ghana, just as he is the leader of the NDC Political party. This question even sound more stupid when the constitution somehow justify the president’s action to act in favour of his party at the expense of the state.
Without bordering you with any further details on how and why the Muntie Three ended up with four months imperisonment by the order of the Supreme Court, the length and breath of it all is, the Supreme Court acted on behalf of the laws of the God of Ghana, as instructed by the Constitution.
There is a clear contention here. We have two powerful institutions of the state, with each claiming to be acting on behalf of the same God of Ghana and in accordance with the will of this God, in upholding the same justice. One gave a green light for something to happen and the other gave a red light for it to stop. Clearly there is.madness in the camp of the Ghanaian God! This is like Sunni and Shie-at in Irag.
But, God must be one and not two, so which is which? Surely whether you are of the conviction that the president acted on behalf of the NDC political Party than the state or not, the head of state acted by the instruction of the Constitution. We also know that those encouraging the president to act in favour of his party, premised their case that the Supreme Court acted on behalf of the opposition NPP (New Partriotic Party).
One thing that is very clear is, there are contentions around the position of the Laws of the God of Ghana, as contained in the Constitutional power, to its institutions. What the constitution ask the President to do is not to interpret the law but execute the law by carrying it out. This same constitution asked the Supreme Court to interpret the law and not to execute the law. The president is clearly wrong because he carried out his own version of the interpretation of the law, since it is one thing to state the position of the law and is another thing to interprat what the constitution said or meant. The Supreme Court’s instruction by sentencing the Muntie Trios also contravane their role of interpretations that led the three into prison.
Probably the best option is for all to go back and do the right thing, than behaving like the self acclaimed pastor Obinim.
So if the president has acted and you and I feel the action contravanes our understanding of the constitution, everyone of us has a duty of going to the Supreme Court for interpretation of Article 74.
There are two possible outcome to this. The Suprreme Court will then play its traditional role of limiting itself to the interpretation of the law, by telling citizens whether the President as the head of state acted in the best interest of the state or acted in any other interest that might include his party’s.
If, the first position is the case, then we all move on. If however, the Supreme Court interprtations state that the president acted wrongly, and come up with the right position of the state, then the option of the Executive president deciding when to act becomes his business, with constitutional crisis hanging around his neck.
The third possibility is the parliament stepping in by making a law that could strengthen the position of the president, since he has majority in parliament or make a law for impeachment. The impeachment of the president is again a remote case. What will be certain is the interpretation of the law by the Supreme Court awsiting the presidential action, which will then make the fate of the Muntie Trios pending.
If the President as the NDC candidate wins the next election, the pending case will continue as long as NDC continues to win. If however, the president loses the election, the Muntie Trios will be the first to be pick up by the law.
The citizens of Ghana, this is another great opportunity to test our great Constitution. The Supreme Court will never call for this case until decent Ghanaians take the action of the president to the Court for interpretation. Join the GPPP (Ghana Poor People’s Party) to fulfil the National Anthem instruction of “Bold to defend forever, the course of freedom and of right” for God to Bless our homeland Ghana.
Kofi Ali Abdul-Yekin
Founder GPPP
Chairman ECRA (ECOWAS Citizens Right Advocate)
kofialiabdul@yahoo.co.UK
0447984445344 or 04477374787
Twit #NOECOWASVOTE