We want vigilance not violence – Joyce Aryee urges youth

The Founder of the Salt and Light Ministries, Ms Joyce Aryee, has advised the youth to be vigilant during the 2016 general election rather than being violent.

She said the youth was full of passion and energy and should rather channel it into doing good things during and after the election.

“During the election, we want vigilance but not violence. We want people to vote in an orderly manner and don’t want people to disrupt things and the youth should serve as people who will help people to be orderly and vigilant,” she stated.

Ms Aryee gave this advice when she delivered the third annual lecture which was organised by the New Achimota Circuit of the Association of Methodist Men’s Fellowship.

Annual lecture

The annual lecture, which is organised by the Achimota Circuit Men’s fellowship of the Methodist Church, is aimed at bringing Christians together to discuss topical national and international issues that affect the growth and development of Christians.

The platform is also used to honour men and women in the Methodist church who have contributed to the growth of the church, as well as positively influencing individuals in society.

The lecture, which was in honour of Mr Joseph Nkum Okyere,was on the theme: “Living and working for Christ; youth the future of Methodism”.

Mrs Aryee urged the youth to subdue their emotions, stating that “it doesn’t matter which party you belong to, Ghana is the country we are all fighting for and the country we all want to uphold and live in”.

Don’t vote for a reward

Ms Aryee also urged religious bodies in the country to advise their congregants, mainly the youth not to vote for any reward.

“It insults your dignity if somebody pays you to vote for him or her. That is your power, how can you allow somebody to buy your power?”

“We must stand firm and make sure that we vote for what we believe in,” she noted.

Shaping the youth

Ms Aryee also advised the older generation to leave footsteps that the youth could step in.

“The youth cannot be what we want them to be when they don’t see that in our lives,” she said.

She said the older generation should be an example to the younger ones, adding  “young people are looking up to adults who will help mould them into responsible adults”.

“It is important we let our young people know who they believe in. It shouldn’t be just about singing and dancing at church,” she said.

Mrs Aryee also admonished Christians to let their characters reflect what they believed in.

“We shouldn’t tell people we are Christians. Our characters should show it”.

The Methodist Bishop for Accra, the Rt Rev. Samuel Osabutey, for his part, advised the youth to listen to only the positive things that can grow the country during and after the election.

“As we are nearing the election, tensions will be rising and most political parties tended to use young people to achieve whatever purpose whether positive or negative. We are, therefore, using this medium to advise all our young people to listen to only the positive things that can grow the country,” he stated

“They should shun anything that is negative regardless of is who is pursuing them and aspire to live in harmony with everyone,” he added

The Connexional Chairman of the Methodist Men’s Fellowship, Mr George Opare Badu said the Methodist men’s fellowship, apart from doing the work of God, had an interest in extending its help to other social and welfare matters.

He said a lecture of this nature was,  therefore, organised to educate its members and all others on the social aspects of life.

“Most of the times too we turn to forget our forbears so we organise lectures such as this to honour and remember them so the young people will see the good works they had done and follow suit,” he stated.

He said participation in the lectures kept growing each year and this was due to the variation of topics that were relevant to society.