Pastor Mensah Otabil
Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Accra, Tuesday November 13, 2012.
“That was when I realised I was dealing with a
marauding and bullying force that was bent on impugning my name and integrity
without shame.
“This is defamatory. This is unethical. This is criminal.
This is malicious. This is Machiavellian. This is evil. It is a violation of my
person and my integrity.”
Pastor Mensa Anamoah Otabil, General Overseer of
the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) yesterday bared his teeth at
what he described as attempts by political parties especially some
functionaries of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to drag him into
partisan politics for their parochial interests.
He was critical of the NDC virtually calling them
evil, as he kicked against the use of his voice for political campaign calling
on President John Dramani Mahama to call his people to order.
“I kindly called upon the President to rise up and
speak on this issue. With all due respect, sir, although you may not be aware
of these developments the perpetrators of these blatant acts of impunity are
largely affiliates and surrogates of your party,” Pastor Otabil said.
The ICGC general overseer was addressing a news
conference in Accra to respond to what he called “Some misrepresentations of my
sermon and to hopefully stop the running harassment against my integrity,”
after he was alleged to have preached that the free senior high school promised
by the opposition NPP would not be feasible.
Since the news broke, Pastor Otabil who is also the
founder of Central University College (CUC) has been subjected to a barrage of
abuse by a section of the public.
The NDC, which is vehemently opposing the social
intervention policy of providing free secondary education, has even gone to the
extent of using his voice in their campaign advertisements as they face an
uphill task of being re-elected in December.
The visibly incensed man of God said “I have
called this press conference to address recent media references that seek to
place my sermons and me in a partisan political position.”
He said “When political operatives sample, splice
and edit a pastor’s words to mean something other than what was intended, and
then go ahead to lift those words from their proper context and place them
within a partisan context…that is immoral.”
He said it is mischievous for political operatives
to hijack a Pastor’s words, manipulate them to build partisan jingles and play
them on party information vans across the country.
“Let me state clearly that the sound bites that have
been played with my voice have been taken totally out of context. In some
cases, phrases from different messages I have preached over the years with no
relation to each other have been mischievously pieced together to create the
impression that I was making a current contribution to the on-going political
debate,” he said.
Pastor Otabil noted that the use of his voice for
political mischief had been going on but what broke the camel’s back was a
sound bite he heard last Friday adding “That was when I realised I was dealing
with a marauding and bullying force that was bent on impugning my name and
integrity without shame.”
“This is defamatory. This is unethical. This is
criminal. This is malicious. This is Machiavellian. This is evil. It is a
violation of my person and my integrity.
“I can handle it when people disagree with me. I
can handle it when people debate the merits of something I have said. I love to
debate. I can take criticism. What I cannot take is evil.
“There is a sinister force on the prowl in our
nation. It is the force of impunity. It is a force of treachery. It is a force
of evil. To keep silent in such a situation is to allow evil to triumph,” he
yelled.
Pastor Otabil had a word for people who jump into
hasty conclusions when issues come up.
“The apparent observation is the schizophrenic
response of the purveyors of this agenda. In one breath they hail me when the
dubious sound bite seemed to favour their cause and in the next breath condemn
and insulted me when the church came to set the record straight,” he stated.
He said no one has the right to force their
thoughts into his words saying “I own my thoughts. I own my words. I own my
beliefs.”
Bombarded
He said “I continue to receive reports from all
parts of the nation that my voice is being played on various media platforms to
support or denounce some political party.”
“Who are these people who are willing to sacrifice
the integrity of individuals and societal values in pursuit of their parochial
political interests? What will they do next?” he asked.
He feels he has been violated and thinks those
behind the tape are doing it with impunity.
“Today it is Mensa Otabil who is being violated;
who will it be tomorrow? When does society rise up to speak for a citizen whose
rights are being trampled upon with force and impunity?”
“Is it right for political operatives to
manipulate any citizen’s words to suit their own interests? Would you consider
it fair if you were treated that way? Is it the path we want our country to
pursue? Is it how we want our politics to run? Is this the future we want to
bequeath to the next generation?”
He called on Ghanaians to demand for what he
called “Righteousness, justice and fairness in our national discourse.”
Not
Against Free SHS
He said he had never said anywhere that the free
senior high school education being promised by some of the political parties is
not feasible, adding "I have not commented in any categorical manner on a current
political issue."
Asked if he would consider legal action Pastor
Otabil said “I have taken it to the highest court of the universe. Actually, I
have taken it before God.”
He said so long as he is a Ghanaian, he would
always exercise his franchise saying “I will vote on December 7. Even the
Electoral Commissioner votes.”
He said his pulpit is not for partisan politics
and that explains why anytime political parties leaders visit his church, they
acknowledge them without giving them the platform to address the congregation.
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