From Accra To Golgotha

Being part of a country�s political fault-line is a sure way of writing one�s name in the dark pages of her history. Some compatriots have easily found their names in the entry already and we do not begrudge them the feat, especially because it is something we find smelly and despicable. If we were tasked to mention the latest entry to these dark pages, we would not hesitate to point at Elvis Afriyie Ankrah. Having bungled a government initiated sponsorship of Ghanaian pastors to Israel, the gentleman does not even appreciate the importance of expressing remorse for the mess. He has rather, characteristically of most politicians in his political grouping, sought to defend his position and in an arrogant manner. If his denial that the cost of the religious tourism project was $600,000 and not $2 million, as reported, was intended to shore up his sunken image and that of government�s, it fell flat on its face. The meaning of this revision is to point out that, after all, it is only $600,000. For the noveau riche of Ghanaian politics, indeed the amount qualifies to be preceded with �only.� For the sun-beaten and wobbling average Ghanaian, it is an amount found only on the pages of newspapers and in reference largely to government mismanagement of the public purse such as sponsoring bowl-in-hand pastors with faded shirts and collars. Claiming that some pastors have lined up and willing to take up the politically obscene offer, he could not have been more insulting, especially from a wannabe politician in the mould of Elvis Afriyie Ankrah. Perhaps, he has not appreciated the level of disdain Ghanaians hold for the spiritual project in a secular state. Referring to the annual pilgrimage of Muslims to the Hajj in Saudi Arabia does not offer any respite for the challenged Elvis and his masters at the Flagstaff House because while the Hajj is one of the cannons of Islam, such pilgrimages do not constitute any pillar of Christianity. In any case, sponsorship of Muslims for the Hajj has always been selectively restricted to party faithful; in fact a convenient way of expressing gratitude to party activists for their effort in spreading the contagion of lies in the Zongos and beyond. For a country suffering some of her most difficult moments since independence, government sponsorship of a religious tourism project can only aggravate the pain being endured by Ghanaians. When a man, who is unable to differentiate between state and campaign trail affairs, is saddled with the large responsibility of manning a state department, such pantomime as being spawned by Elvis, is bound to happen. We are informed that the President is peeved at the turn of events and ready to ask the so-called philanthropists behind the project to stand down their Godly offer. Our take is that, those faceless Ghanaian philanthropists have failed to endear themselves to the good people of this country. Their skeleton-filled closets are too glaring to make them gentlemen worth respecting. After all, Alfred Agbesi Woyome was a philanthropist par excellence, sponsoring even supporters of the national team attending international tournaments. We are amazed at how the subject of the journey from Accra to Golgotha and thence to Canaan and perhaps Bethlehem is raising so much temperature. Mr President has also joined the fray, threatening to abort the deal with the philanthropists, if the pastors insist they would not oblige the offer.