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Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Ransford Gyampo cautioned against using religion to silence dissent in Ghana’s democratic system.
According to him, dissent is necessary for the survival of multiparty democracy and the development of the country and should therefore be encouraged.
He said: “Through constructive dissent (not cynicism) the pitfalls of government plans and actions are exposed to introspection and redress.
His comments are in reaction to the assertion by Presbyterian moderator Rt. Rev. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante that those who do not unequivocally support the government’s Agenda 111 are wizards.
According to Professor Gyampo, such a statement by the moderator was “absolutely unacceptable and undemocratic for a people revered by God who use their religious influence to try to silence dissent.”
He warned that if religious leaders continued to tow this tangent, “religious respect could suffer from unnecessary partisan disrespect and, more importantly, societal disrespect. But, we don’t have to get there.
He, however, encouraged members of the clergy to comment on public policy and politics, but in a way that did not stifle dissent.
“We cannot all be forced to think the same way. Society collapses the day dissent is ousted. So let the government focus on what it wants to do and let those who want to oppose do it freely. If there is wisdom in dissent, it must be taken into account. If there was nothing sane about dissent, it should remain dissent in the spirit of democracy, ”he concluded.
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