Let the Unborn live.

Abortion is when the pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in the birth of a child. Sometimes, this is called ‘termination of pregnancy”. This is the deliberate act of destroying the life of a foetus for reasons best known to the mother and those involved. Apart from extreme cases where medically it is discovered and proven that the existence of the pregnancy puts the motherhood in a precarious state of danger, the act of abortion should be shunned by all.

The act is a grievous offense before God, the law, the unborn child and the society at large.From 'Atuguba's  perspective, the right to life is one that everyone enjoys as provided in 1992 constitution of the Republic Of Ghana that states that the right to life is per-eminent.  However,a  very important question is being raised; does an unborn child enjoy the right to life?

Generally, a foetus is regarded by legal fiction as already born and at such enjoys the same right to life as an already born and as such enjoys the same right to life as every living being does. The law went a step further to clothe this law with strict legal implication when defiled. These sanctions are rightly placed in both the Criminal and Penal codes used in the Ghana. This provision is may be found in the Criminal Code and in the Penal Code, but for the specific Act and Section I will adjourn it for another day for hearing to continue.

‘Any person who, with the intent to procure miscarriage of a woman whether she is or not with a child, unlawfully administers to her or causes her to take any poison or other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind, or uses and other means whatever, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for some years.

However, where a woman herself causes or attempt to cause her own miscarriage, whether she is pregnant or not by any administration of poison, by force or means, she will be guilty of felony punishable by law. This is the position of the law for the punishment of anyone charged with abortion (be it the woman or anyone else that rendered assistance with the full knowledge of the intent of the woman). The exception to this rule is for the purpose of saving the mother’s life and except in the instance as stated above, the life of a foetus is germane to the state and thus must be protected by the state who is charged with the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of its citizen.

 Law aside, from a moral, health and religious perspective, the act of abortion cannot still be justified. Abortion is a rude way of killing an innocent foetus. Abortion claims the lives of thousands of women yearly. These begging questions needs to be asked at this point; the death of all this ladies, is it God’s plan or man’s act? Did God plan for females to die prematurely or through this way?  Does abortion cleanse us from the mistake we made or only complicate things?  Are they no health implications even after the act of abortion has being done?  Can a man play with fire and not get burnt?

The truth is that abortion ought not to be an option if the right is done; this is because abortion is not a mystery that cannot be understood. Before thinking of abortion, the lady must first of all be pregnant and pregnancy involves the act of sex (not unless one proves to us that it is another case of Immaculate Conception as was with biblical Mary, mother of Jesus). People, who are not ready to face the product, must not engage on the process.  Ladies must learn not to engage in actions, that could easily jeopardize their lives, as they must know that sex is a two edged sword; it gladdens  the heart momentary and saddens the heart when the undesirable happens as he who plays with fire must be ready to be burnt as well. 

Parents please enlighten your children and instil some moral and spiritual discipline in them, seek to know your children beyond the surface no matter their ages. Also when the undesirable or the unexpected happens, exhibit maturity in accommodating their mistakes as two wrongs cannot make a right and with the full knowledge that everyone including children deserves a second chance.

Conclusively, children are heritage from God and at such deserve to live and the shame of keeping an unexpected child is always temporary but the guilt of killing it, is one that will remain forever.  Remember that what we do to ourselves is far worse than what any other person can do to us and so we must seek to improve ourselves rather than destroying ourselves alongside with the mistakes we made previously. Let the unborn child live because abortion would cost us more than we are willing to pay and take us farther than we are willing to go. We must put an end to this act as abortion does not stop you from being a mother; it only means you are the mother of a dead child... Either ways, you are still a mother!

 

VENERATION OF MEDIOCRITY, THE TRAGEDY OF GHANA’S LEADERSHIP FAILURE

The Bible says in proverbs 29:18 that “where there is no visions the people perish.” This declaration is very true for a generation that has succumbed to unbelievable levels of mediocrity that they sing and dance for MM/DCES, Members of Parliament and Presidents who build a few roads and then endlessly justify all the other failings of government. 

There are now large agents of mediocrity across Ghana who have made a career from justifying the inexcusable failure of the past and present governments at all levels and count some mediocre projects as achievements even after some fifty six years (56) of independence; Ghana is a certified failed country in spite of abundant human and material resources.

The phenomenon of mediocrity is not new, it has been with us for a considerable length of time; what is new however, is the extent to which the culture of mediocrity has been consolidated across the Ghanaian society with large sections of the population becoming the defenders and justifiers of the mediocrity of government and opposition parties. This is 2013, where deputy minister can anticipate basking one million dollars before calling the cat for a fight. This is where one will need a million dollars to be able to control humankind, not 1809 where one could only boost of his riches by the limitless number of wives, as well as male children to mould yam mourns. We live in the 21st century, an era that has heralded the most advanced technology ever known to man. From the internet to face book, YouTube to twitter, solar energy to wind energy, GPS to space tourism, the world is navigating through revolutionary technology in all spheres at a dizzying pace. Technology brings with it possibilities and solutions for all kinds of human challenges, it takes away the constraint and arduous task of needing to “reinvent the wheel,”  yet in the age and midst of such possibilities, Ghana has regressed into a failed state lacking the most basic infrastructure. 

Sadly, there abound so many soaked in the muddied waters of mediocrity, willing to applaud and defend the government in the open glare of colossal failings. Most worrying is the well travelled and educated elite who are now either the purveyors, enablers or chief defenders of mediocrity. Ghana is the only country where so called leaders are endlessly praised and celebrated for doing less than 15% of their job even when the 15% is mostly of doubtful quality. This trend is evident all across Ghana as governments construct a several substandard roads, erect some cranky boreholes in a few communities and get treated to dance troupes and praise singers for failing in his job. Same goes for the members of parliament who are toasted and celebrated for patching up a few spots in some badly damaged asphalt roads that continues to kill thousands of victims annually. 

Every year endless hypes and noise is made  about the purported achievement of government; how things are improving; how this and that president is ‘performing,’  but beneath all that deceit  propaganda is the reality of failure across all strata of  governance in Ghana. Neither the neither president nor any of the ministers are successful.  None of them can pass even the most basic test of good governance and accountability. Government in this time is all about scamming and mediocrity. They loot public funds, deceive the public with some mediocre projects and together with a mediocre populace celebrate their failings as success. 

In the era of unprecedented technology and attendant possibilities, the nation has gone back in time.  As a consequence of mediocrity and corruption, there is no remarkable development anywhere in Ghana in spite of a sustained oil boom and consequent availability of financial resources.  After more than twenty years of democracy the nation is littered with bad roads. There is no pipe borne water, no electricity, no functional hospitals, no functional refineries, no functional steel plants, no functional public schools, no national airline, no social housing, no social welfare, no skills and vocational training centers, no functional railways, no waterways, no modern port facilities. The tragedy of Ghana’s leadership failure is further appreciated when we ponder the irony of a nation that is producing crude oil in the world yet imports fuel for local consumption because the refineries are dysfunctional.

Patchiness and its twin of corruption have ensured that there is increasing poverty, unemployment and massive infrastructure deficit at a time the nation is awash with petro-dollars.  It has consigned the president and Ministers   to mediocre projects while ignoring major and massive infrastructural projects that would build capacity for industrial growth and social investments that will insulate the citizenry from poverty and destitution. A country  with the resources,  population and size of Ghana should have a modern rail system with high speed   trains ferrying goods and persons across the nation, state of the art feeder roads in excess of six lanes, inland waterways and state of the art river ports, modern  steel plants and refineries, a  comprehensive  and free high quality  medical system,  twenty four hour uninterrupted electricity,  pure and clean pipe borne water, special economic zones  and cluster industrial parks, subsidized  education at all levels,  basic social security and safety net, job and  vocational training centers  amongst other basic social services and infrastructure that  are  indispensable  attributes  of any  functional nation. 

Notwithstanding the mechanics of state failure, all too present in Ghana, the justifiers and enablers of mediocrity are everywhere singing praises of government for non performance and giving endless excuses why the much desired basic infrastructure and social services does not exist. A nation where so many are ever too willing to defend visionless and underperforming governments cannot succeed. At a time when so many ambitious and progressive nations around the world are blazing an audacious trail in economic, infrastructural and social development, Ghana is behind in time. A dirty, stumbling, un-ambitious giant of failure consigned to the ignoble depths of penury.

It must be borne in mind that successful societies are constructed through the continuous social pressure put on the leadership by a citizenry disposed to holding their leaders accountable. The choice is clear, it is either we emancipate ourselves from the veneration of mediocrity, and put our leaders under enormous pressure to fulfill our aspirations for economic, social and infrastructural development or continue with mediocrity and be consumed by the social violence of a failed dysfunctional nation.