Tribulations Of An Ecclesiastic

When the story about Pastor Mensa Otabil�s so-called position on the most active political slogan in the country today�free SHS�made landfall, courtesy Nana Akufo Addo, the backlash resonated countrywide.

But for the almost immediate rejoinder to set the records straight, the Man of God would have suffered an almost irreparable image-dent to the ecclesiastical empire he has worked indefatigably to build.

The excitement of the NDC knew no bounds when the story made the rounds on the political terrain. They disseminated it with gusto and even coined a jingle out of it within a few hours of its existence.

It is regrettable that a man whose words continue to be etched on marble continues to provide guidance to many within his church and beyond would suffer such a politically-cooked tribulation, part of a grand design to score political mileage by the NDC whose General Secretary Asiedu-Nketia had charitable words for the priest, for, as it were, making his day.

It was relieving and soothing therefore when the real story was released through a statement from the cleric�s office, putting paid almost immediately the confusion deliberately generated by a propaganda machine. We now understand how stories can be pieced together in a manner almost criminal in style and tendentiously in disregard to political and social morality.

We are surprised that even Men of God are not being spared the jaws of the NDC propaganda machine which in its present desperate state would devour anything in its sight provided these appear to have the potency of influencing some gullible persons.

Be that as it may, we wish to restate our position on the free SHS campaign, the cornerstone of the NPP flag bearer, which for us, offers the most dynamic answer to the schism existing in the socio-economic strata in the country.

Man of God Mensa Otabil would agree with us that but for such a pragmatic and social intervention on the part of not the government, but the state, many are they who would terminate their education at the end of the JHS segment turning their attention to street hawking in Accra and other urban settings in the country.

That is why the free SHS dream should come to fruition so that all Ghanaian kids, the deprived, can proceed beyond the level where street hawking is the most reachable occupation they can think of.

The Man of God is now in a better position to appreciate it when a picture of the NDC propaganda machine is painted to the people of Ghana.

Even as he licks his NDC-inflicted wound, let the Man of God beware of the viciousness of the NDC. May God deliver us out of the hands of the vicious in society.

Source: Editorial/D-Guide