Election seasons in Ghana are fast becoming a time when there usually appears to be a sudden increase in what I call ‘political prophecies’. In general, although election seasons over the years have attracted a lot of these prophecies, their somewhat ever-increasing popularity and pompous audacity – at least over the last few general elections – seem to be deeply and firmly engraving them onto the political landscape at an unusually fast pace.
We are in an era where they have attached themselves so firmly to our general elections to the extent that it is almost inconceivable to imagine a period anytime soon that they would die out of the political scene. Considering the fact that even more Christian ministers and so-called prophets seem to be using their platforms, authority and trust to advance diverse partisan political propaganda, it is useful to understand that most of these prophecies could simply be driven by the set political agenda. This certainly raises a lot of questions about the authenticity of these prophecies on the one hand and the unconstitutional claim of right to leadership that it confers by reason of its assumed authority.
A prophecy, in its simple explanation, is a meant to be a very sacred Christian spiritual ministry which is administered by the by issuing of a word or statement supposed to convey a description of some sort of an event or series of events which are usually yet to happen. To be precise, it is identified as a confirmation of an event that has already taken place in the spiritual realm but yet to revealed in the physical.
They are, therefore, believed to be inspired by God himself through the Holy Spirit in the form of special privileged ‘coded’ messages meant to reveal the very mind of God. Prophecies are thus supposed to be very scarce in their occurrence and revealed only through a chosen few – the prophets – as such they are elevated to the status of spiritual wisdom and undisputable truth. They are often authoritative, conclusive, and very precise in their manifestation. It appears, however, that upon critical analysis, most of the prophecies we are confronted with during our election seasons are simple imaginative expectations bordering on mere fantasies.
Considering the inherent authority given to prophesy by Christians, it is therefore quite understandable that some Christians and Christian Ministers see political prophecies as a very important part of nation building and governance at least by drawing inspiration from some very similar manifestations evidenced in the Christian holy text, The Holy Bible. Furthermore, it is reasonable to expect that any such prophecies must therefore be reflective of Christian ministerial practice, principles and protocol of the highest standards. Above all, it is equally within reason for the general public to anticipate that such prophecies would be in line with The Holy Bible and not just manipulated, orchestrated, or manufactured by party political desire or delusion. It appears, however, the latter seem the most plausible motivating force underwriting these prophecies.
The simple truth is that, these so-called prophecies seem to be acting as a springboard for large scale confusion and controversy thereby attracting a great deal of criticism from all angles, and rightly so. They seem to be completely departing from the fundamental Christian principles from which they claim to emanate. Moreover, they can be easily identified as lacking basic vision, conviction and authority.
More and more Christians, if anything at all, are speaking out against them rather than accepting them as a source of authoritative spiritual wisdom and truth which can be relied upon for guidance. The strange thing, however, is that, irrespective of the mountain of controversies and confusion arising from them, these political prophecies and their associated so called prophets still seem to maintain a an unusually large following. It is therefore obvious that some people still not only believe but base their actions during election seasons on these ‘prophetic’ pronouncements.
It is no secret that numerous such prophecies about the 2016 General Elections, all of which predict different outcomes, are already circulating at an alarming rate, Dwelling on any specific one of these prophecies for the analysis would be of no meaningful use, nevertheless, it is worth mentioning the diversity of the outcomes predicted and the assumed authority with which these proclamations have been made. It is easy to conclude, without any mastery, that some of these ‘prophecies’ would be fulfilled while other wouldn’t. This, however, does not necessarily legitimise nor authenticate one prophecy over the other. It rather goes to validate the real possibility that what are being termed as prophecies may just be pure and dangerous trial and error mind games which needs to be approached with great scepticism.
Although these prophecies may not explicitly promote a ‘baseless’ claim to the throne of the presidency, it is naïve to think that the power of their sheer proliferation and mere existence could be ignored or classified as having no bearing on the elections. For some, these prophecies must be manifested just as pronounced as such any result that appears contrary to their comfortable prophetic domains are bound to be met with strong repudiation without any proper vetting of the results. This then becomes a real cause for concern.
It is right to expect your party to win but no one has the right to assume an automatic right to win in the general elections except when pronounced winner by the due process. Considering the fact that these so – called prophesies may take a long time to fade away from our political discourse, it supposes that we would have to carry the burden they bring with them for a long time yet.
As a nation, Ghana has come a very long way through a complex political history and have been shining through it all as a real beacon of hope by championing democratic governance – although not a perfect one – across the African continent. It should therefore be the desire of all Ghanaians to see this star of Africa shining brighter into to the future and continuing to lead the way. Anything, including political prophecies, which threatens or undermines the purity of our graciousness and sanctity of our democracy and peace, must, therefore, not be given any foot hole whatsoever.
“They that have ears, let them hear what the spirit says to the churches”. God bless our homeland Ghana.
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