Akufo-Addo Speech at International Breakfast Breakfast National Breakfast

General News of Saturday, February 9, 2019

Source: clbadfmonline.com

2019-02-09

I thank the co-chairs of the National Prayer Breakfast, Senators Christopher Coons and James Lankford, as well as all the members of the Host Committee, for the honor of this invitation and the opportunity that they are being given. is available to speak at the International Breakfast Luncheon. The Prayer Breakfast has become a globally acclaimed event for 67 years.

It is good to see two senators who, although they are on both sides of the political divide and in spite of the news coming from the Capitol, have decided to put aside their political differences and try to to make sure that God continues to act. rule not only in the affairs of the United States of America, but also in the affairs of other nations of the world.

The people of Ghana are truly grateful and deeply humbled by the choice of their main servant to address this important annual gathering, which brings together distinguished guests and guests from around the world. I recognize the importance of the moment, as the first Ghanaian leader to speak here, and I thank you once again for this invitation.

I do not speak only for myself by giving thanks to Almighty God for the men and women of this nation, who played such an important role in the defeat of totalitarian ideas such as Nazism, fascism and communism, ideas that posed a direct threat. to freedom. In applauding the United States for the sacrifices of its heroic defense of freedom in the twentieth century, we also remember, in this "Year of the Return," which commemorates the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slave of war. West Africa in the Commonwealth of Virginia, its tragic role in some of the most destructive episodes in the history of humanity – the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas. We intend to use the symbolism of this "Year of Return" to bring together Africans, people of African descent and all sympathizers and freedom lovers to strengthen their commitment to ensuring that they do not reproduce never again. In our prayers on this occasion, we should make a special intercession for the blessings of God on the soul of the unfortunate victims and for his forgiveness of the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I was born into a family of profound Presbyterian convictions. My maternal ancestors include my great-grandparents, who were evangelical Presbyterian pioneers in the Akyem areas of Ghana, where I come from. My paternal ancestors include 19th century Presbyterian priests, whose evangelical ministries remain a lasting legacy and source of inspiration for future generations of Presbyterian priests. As you can imagine, my own parents were fervent Presbyterians. I was baptized Presbyterian and Anglican, following vehement protests from my parents, following the high school I attended in England. Daily Morning and Evensong, as well as the additional Sunday Eucharist were constant features of my four-year stay at school in Lancing. This has no doubt helped to strengthen my faith in God and strengthen my belief in his word that "Without me you can do nothing."

As a Christian, the journey of my own life was a testimony of the love of God and a justification of the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 19, verse 26, who says "with the impossible man, but with God everything is possible". Some of you may know that I have applied for the highest position in the country three times and that I have completed the third. Between 2008 and 2016, if any of you had the opportunity to visit Ghana, you would certainly have heard catchy phrases such as "Akufo-Addo can not be president", "God does not want that Akufo-Addo is president, "Akufo-Addo is small and does not have the stature to be president. "Maybe, if you lost your first election of some forty thousand votes in a poll of about ten million voters, as I had done in 2008, and you would lose your second election after a controversial decision of the Supreme Court four years later, as I did, you would be tempted to believe that these comments had some merit. However, my faith in God would not let me give up. On my third attempt, I entrusted the election campaign to God and told the people of Ghana that "The battle is the Lord". By the grace of God, I won a famous victory against a sitting president in the 2016 elections, with a one million vote gap, the largest margin of victory in the past two decades.

It is this belief that God has the power to turn difficult situations into hopes of hope that has driven my vision of putting Ghana in a situation that goes beyond aid and putting the country on the path to sustainable progress and prosperity. Our march towards a better future is supported by our strong commitment to a system of governance that respects human rights and individual freedoms, the rule of law and the principles of democratic accountability.

Despite the current situation, I believe that our fate is not to be a poor country. God blessed our Ghana. We have some of the most dramatic and natural scenes on the planet. We have almost all the minerals that humanity desires and are needed to manage a modern economy. We have an abundance of arable land and a young, enterprising and hardworking population. The book of Proverbs, chapter 10, verse 22, tells us that "the blessing of the Lord has enriched him and he adds no pain to it". The negative characterizations of Ghana and, indeed, of most African countries, largely described by stories of disease, famine, hunger and poverty, can not be our part. God's blessings on our land mean that we can, we should, and must get rid of this cloak of poverty and chart ourselves a path that will bring the mbades of our people into prosperity and improve their quality of life.

Since my Government came into office about two years ago, with God's support, we have restored discipline in the management of the economy and become one of the fastest growing economies. in the world. We guarantee access to education for all schoolchildren up to a minimum of upper secondary and have increased access to health care for all. We are becoming more and more self-sufficient in the production of food products and, unlike the difficulties of the last few years, we are now exporting food products to neighboring West African countries. Today, Ghana has become the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in West Africa, and some of the world's largest automotive manufacturing companies have decided to set up badembly and manufacturing plants in Ghana. I hope that in the years to come, and to paraphrase the words of Hanani the Seer, in chapter 16 of the 2nd Chronicles, God will continue to be strong in the name of a country whose heart is fully at his heart. devoted.

Before concluding, let me express my gratitude to the churches for their role in the development of our country. In Ghana, where 71% of the population is Christian, the churches have provided valuable badistance to the people of Ghana, mainly in the areas of education, health and agriculture. Since independence, God has blessed our country by sparing us the horrors of civil war that have touched almost all our neighbors. It is in recognition of these blessings and to honor a personal commitment I made him before the election of 2016 that I decided to build a national interfaith cathedral of Ghana, to his glory and to his honor. It will serve as a pivot to propagate the Christian faith and unify the Christian community.

All of us, who have taken Jesus Christ as our Lord and our personal Savior, also have a lot of work to do to win the current battle against the spread of religious extremism, intolerance and persecution religion, fanaticism and terrorism. We have the heavy responsibility to spread the word, to win as many as possible for God's salvation and to bequeath a safer, more secure and more prosperous world to future generations.

In the words of the sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, representing the greatest President of the United States, I quote: "My concern is not whether God is with us; My greatest concern is to be on the side of God, because God is always right. " I want to be on God's side, I want Ghana to be on God's side, and we will be an example to the black peoples of the world that a free, dedicated, innovative people, who believe and trust in God can do to build a nation equal to any one, anywhere on the face of the planet.

May God continue to bless us all.

Thank you for your attention.