Report suspicious characters to Police – President
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday urged all Muslims to exercise extreme vigilance and not to allow religious extremists to infiltrate their ranks to destroy the peace the country is enjoying.
He encouraged them to report any suspicious characters in their communities to the Police for swift action, saying; “while the security agencies are working to keep all of us safe, I encourage you to report suspicious characters that come to our communities to take advantage of our world acclaimed hospitality to unleash mayhem on our country to the Police”.
He made reference to the recent religious attacks on some churches in the neighbouring Burkina Faso and urged all Ghanaians to be alert and exercise restraint in the face of provocation so that it wouldn’t feed into the evil intentions of those miscreants to cause mayhem in the country.
President Akufo-Addo gave the advice when he joined thousands of Muslim faithful at the Black Star Square in Accra for the Eid-uI-Fitr celebration.
He commended the vigilance of the leadership and members of the Catholic Church in Hamile in the Upper West Region who alerted the Police about the presence of an armed Burkinabe national in the Church, leading to his arrest and detention.
The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu led the Muslim prayers and prayed for peace and tranquility for the nation and asked for Allah’s protection and guidance for President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia and the entire government.
Some dignitaries that graced the occasion included; Mrs Samira Bawumia, wife of the Vice President, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Minister of Inner City and Zongo Development, Chairman of the National Council of Zongo Chiefs, Chairman of the National Hajj Board, Acting President of Ga Traditional Council, Nii Dodoo Nsaki II, Zongo Chiefs, Muslim clerics and other Muslim religious leaders.
President Akufo-Addo congratulated Muslim Ummah and all Muslims for a successful 30-day fast in the holy month of Ramadan and urged them to uphold the virtues of Ramadan such as good neighbourliness, sacrifice and discipline.
He noted that those virtues were integral part of the national code and urged them to inculcate them in their daily lives so that the nation would achieve the desired progress.
The President once again congratulated the National Chief Imam on his 100th birthday and lauded him for his exemplary leadership, citing his historic visit to the Christ the King Catholic Church and asked for Allah’s wisdom, good health and long life.
He expressed his government’s commitment to promote inclusive development and deliver prosperity for all Ghanaians irrespective of one’s religion, ethnic or political affiliation, noting that all the policies it had pursued so far aimed at engendering social inclusiveness.
He cited the establishment of the Inner City and Zongo Development Ministry, which aimed at making Zongo communities a central part of the country’s development agenda and urged the over four million residents in those areas to co-operate with the minister responsible for that Ministry, in order to deliver on the vision of the government.
He announced that the Finance Minister had signed the warrant for the disbursement of funds allocated to the Zongo Development Fund in the 2019 Budget for provision of water systems, rehabilitation of school blocks, provision of desks for Islamic schools and rehabilitation of drains, to help resolve some of the challenges bedeviling the Zongo communities.
President Akufo-Addo called for continuous peaceful co-existence and tolerance of all religious faiths in the country to enable the Government to deliver on its mandate and stimulate economic growth and prosperity for all.
“We should not take the peace we’re enjoying for granted and must continue to work to preserve our culture of religious tolerance. We cannot afford to surrender our beautiful way of life for anything and certainly, not to people who seek to pervert religious beliefs,” he emphasised.
In a speech read on his behalf, Sheikh Dr Sharubutu urged all Muslim youth to be law abiding and not allow politicians and selfish individuals to use them to cause mayhem in the society.
He entreated all Muslims to reflect on the virtues of Ramadan that stressed the need for sacrifice, peaceful co-existence and tolerance, urging them to let those virtues permeate through their daily lives.
Source: GNA