The beautiful National Cathedral and Mosque in the Nigerian capital of Abuja represents the faith diversity of that country.
Those who thought out the landscape for the new federal capital away from Lagos did well for thinking out the novelty.
In Ghana where religiousness is a critical subject dear to the hearts of the adherents of the two main Abrahamic religions of Islam and Christianity, a replica of the Abuja image would have been a welcome novelty, especially since there is already a National Mosque thanks to the Turkish NGOs who provided the technical support and funding for the project.
The road to a National Cathedral has been bumpy in Ghana, riddled with mischievous propaganda and outright lies cooked by National Democratic Congress (NDC) activists.
Described as the most expensive black hole in the country by the NDC, the project can be described as the most rubbished edifice competing as it was with the new Bank of Ghana structure opposite the Greater Accra Regional Hospital. Like all good things, both the Bank of Ghana and the National Cathedral were not spared the badmouthing of NDC activists who are now ministers and other appointment holders.
The respectable personalities entrusted with the task of managing the project were drawn from various departments, and whose patience stood out. They did not budge but rather continued to serve God and country as the naysayers continued to spew mendacious stuff about the project and those overseeing it.
When the accounting firm Deloitte was asked to audit the books, it was to isolate improprieties if any. When eventually the task was accomplished, the excitement within government circles was high. Unfortunately, they were disappointed as nothing was unearthed.
The clean bill of health for the project should have stunned those who were on standby to spew invectives had the report been negative.
After being on the tangent of not continuing with the project defiantly, government has announced a volte-face but with a caveat.
There would not be a National Cathedral but a National Cultural and Trade Exhibition Centre, which makes us wonder what would become of the Trade Fair which is undergoing a massive development per international standards.
We recall the recent remark by the Chieftaincy Minister to the effect that the Cathedral was so much bastardised that a name change would be an option to avoid a possible public backlash. How sad!
For how long shall we continue to run the affairs of this country the way we are currently?
We hardly learn from past mistakes, hence the consistent repetition of same by successive governments.
As for the NDC, theirs has assumed a worrying dimension. To ignore the progress of your predecessors and so seek to undo same through name changes sounds pedantic.
A copy of the Deloitte report on the country’s ‘most expensive black hole’ has been submitted to government. We would ask that same be published for public consumption and judgment. This is a fair request.
