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Nation needs selfless citizens dedicated to good of nation - Monsignor Owusu-Peprah

The Rector of the St Peter’s Cathedral Basilica, Monsignor Raphael Owusu-Peprah, has said the country needs devoted, nationalistic and selfless citizens who are totally dedicated to the good of the nation.

He, therefore, stressed the need to inculcate moral values into the youth for them to exude goodness, truthfulness, empathy, and love for the nation when they take up leadership positions in the country.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Kumasi, Monsignor Owusu-Peprah insisted that people in leadership positions must be diligent and show patriotism and loyalty in their day-to-day operations.

Such leaders,  the rector said, “will not hide behind their official positions and instead of serving the nation engage in dubious deals which plunge the country into economic quandary and political volatility.”

Msgr. Owusu-Peprah reiterated that “the current weird and unfathomable situation whereby huge sums of money have been dashed out to unscrupulous people under the guise of judgement debts would have been averted if people in authority managing the Ghanaian purse and the country as a whole had been diligent and profoundly patriotic in the course of duty.”

The Rector of the Basilica was reacting to the deluge of commendations on the former Attorney General, Mr Martin Amidu, for his dauntless efforts and fighting spirit leading to the Supreme Court ordering Isofoton SA, a Spanish Company, to refund $325,472, and Waterville Holdings Ltd to refund over €40m to the State.

The rector said what Martin Amidu did was a mark of patriotism and dedication to the course of the nation’s development which current and future leaders of the nation should emulate.

He intimated that “Mr Martin Amidu was only living up to the values he acquired, while growing up, from parents and the extended family, teachers, religious leaders, tradition and religion.”

He also emphasised that Mr Amidu was not working hard primarily to receive accolades from human beings.

Rather, the rector said, “Mr Amidu has shown that he is God-fearing, truthful, honest and sincere. The real meaning of leadership is to make proper use of our God-given values to serve our people for them to enjoy the basic necessities of life. I believe that in his heart, Mr Amidu is happy that he has served God and country”.

Similarly, he stated that “I believe we need to acknowledge the fact that the Justices in this particular judgement case have upheld judicial moral values and have been patriotic and loyal to the country. Indeed, people who cherish their God-given values must be bold to live by these values and equally boldly speak against injustices and modern forms of oppression and bad governance perpetrated by those selected by the ordinary citizens to manage their God-given resources. Well-meaning Ghanaians must effortlessly fight all forces both within and outside the country that are determined to obliterate or distort our traditional, Christian and Islamic values.”

In this regard, the rector is calling on the Executive, the Judiciary, the Legislature, and the media and all other institutions, both secular and religious to live up to the values imbibed in them.

“Every institution has values and all of us must exhibit the sense of dedication and selflessness,” the rector added.

He again stressed the need for Ghanaians to be responsible, truthful, sincere, and honest in all their endeavours irrespective of where they find themselves, adding that exhibiting good morals and living exemplary lives should not be a difficult job at all.

“We must see the patriotism of Mr Amidu as the beginning of a ‘new wind of change’ in the country, a kind of the Ghanaian version of the ‘Arab Spring’ that must be undertaken with a change of heart, a burning heart, and not violence shown by burning streets.”

With reference to the case before the Supreme Court, the rector said he was “convinced that the Justices will live up to the task. Ghanaians need to embrace the ‘new wind of change’ that is beginning to blow in the country and educate and encourage each other to be patriotic and loyal.”

By Felix A. Baidoo/Daily Graphic/Ghana

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