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Bawumia: Reflection of love
Many a time we boast to people that we love our neighbours but when we find ourselves in situations that expect us to prove this love beyond reasonable doubts, we are often found wanting, an indication that what many people boast of and describe as love does not come anywhere near true love but rather love that is fake.
Fake love abounds everywhere in this world and in every part of all the 16 regions in the country. This is very unfortunate but that is what is often found in this world.
True love can always be known when we carefully examine people‘s attitude and general behaviour in society. There are some people who pretend to love others even though this may not be true.
THE UNDERPRIVILEGED
In a situation where we come across the underprivileged who have suffered from diseases and have been rendered wretched through humiliation of suffering, such people, some of them, are found to be so disfigured that they appear unattractive to many people in society.
Such people can hardly attract love from members in their own community or from their own fellow citizens. It is for this reason that we need to be careful about those who profess to have love for such people when in fact they do not have any love in their heart for them.
The truth of the matter is that many underprivileged people in society are often ignored because of their miserable situation. Many people will not like to come close to them but may profess to love them just to impress society. Such outward show of love is fake, filthy or not genuine.
LOVE FOR LEPERS
How many people in Ghana today or many parts of this world can openly express love to lepers who dwell in the Weija Leprosarium in Accra?
The inmates in the leprosarium have been cured by the grace of God, but in spite of this, many people in society find it very difficult to associate with them. The lepers from Weija have been cured but their condition is such that they look very miserable and approaching them, therefore, is difficult for many people. It is, therefore, not surprising that these lepers are left to their fate without any warm interaction from those who claim to be lovers of God.
One person in this country who has proved to be the loving type for the cured lepers at Weija is H.E. Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, who has visited these underprivileged many times. His Excellency goes there to embrace, interact and share ideas with the inmates.
SHOW OF HUMILITY
Dr. Bawumia’s presence and interaction with them goes to show him as a humble man who does not place himself above the underprivileged in society but sees himself as the same with other persons who find themselves in such unfortunate situations.
Less than a fortnight ago, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia celebrated his 59th birthday. To celebrate this birthday, he went to the Weija Leprosarium to bring inmates of the leprosarium to his Cantonments residence to celebrate the day with them. This goes to portray him as a man who does not regard himself as any special person from those who do not find themselves in a privileged position as him.
Many a time, our churches and mosques as well as other religious faiths teach us to love one another and to see ourselves as being the same as that person whose conditions are poor, miserable or unattractive. The man, Mahamadu Bawumia, has proven to be a true lover of God and his actions in society are far from pretence.
SELFLESS CHARACTER
Apart from the love he shows regularly to the inmates of the Weija Leprosarium, he is again known to share what he has with the poor in society, who find themselves in various parts of the country. He is known from time to time to be often sharing what he has with many orphanages in this country.
Dr. Bawumia’s family, including his wife and children, also ought to be commended for supporting their man to share what he has with the poor and needy as well as the underprivileged in society. It is in light of this that we pray to the Almighty God to shower more blessings on him and protect and guide him to enable him move from one level of victory to the other.
Anyone who has an objective mind will agree that Dr. Bawumia’s humility, kindness and respect for his fellow man is something that is genuinely true and beyond human comprehension. The Lord will continue to bless him to overcome all his enemies and rivals including all those who pretend to love him but dislike him in their hearts. In fact, he is known to be respectful, humble and loving to every person. Wherever he goes in this country, he does not carry himself high but is often seen to be bowing as a sign of respect and recognition to chiefs and all other people who come in contact with him. It is part of him, his behaviour and general attitude in life such that it flows naturally from him. He is not a pretender who does these things for votes.
UNIQUE PERSONALITY
All Ghanaians must, therefore, take note of his positive, unique and humble personality that he possesses to serve the people of this country. Many pretenders, both in government and opposition, may present themselves as good and influence people to accept them.
In all this, however, we need to open our eyes and siphon out the sheep from the goats. In this context, the sheep are the humble respectful entities that can truly serve our interests, not the goats who may be proud, pompous, victimising and destructive when given the chance to perform any function in this country.
True humility as we see in Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia comes from his inner spirit as a creation of God and it is this spirit of humility and love that is expressed to care for the cured lepers at Weija, going for them, and taking them back from time to time to the glory of God. He keeps saying that these lepers have been cured, so people should interact with them and show love to them at all times and on all occasions.
COMMENDATION
Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia is a devout Moslem who does not only respect Islam but also shows love and respect to people practising other religions including Christianity. Any time he’s invited by any church for a programme, he goes without hesitation to fraternise with his brothers and sisters in the church. It, therefore, came as no surprise when the king of Dagbon recently commended him and praised him for his wonderful way of life towards socioeconomic development.
Again, not long ago, the chiefs and people of Wa and surrounding areas in the Upper West Region also conferred on him a chieftaincy title, recognising his unique role as a wonderful citizen of Ghana. In all other parts of the country, people have seen his worth as a loving, respectful, humble and also someone who is always prepared to serve his country, Ghana.
UNFAIR ATTACK
Many people in opposition keep attacking him unfairly but had it not been him and his role in government, things would have been worse in the country, so let no one come and deceive us with atrocious lies.
God has blessed him so he will climb higher and higher as he is doing now to help this country to overcome its economic situation and be pushed into a higher level of socioeconomic development.
Email address/whatsApp number of author:
Pradmat201@gmail.com (0553318911)
By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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