The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has urged the Christian community and the Ghanaians in general to reset their attitude and be patriotic to the country.
The former president noted that patriotism towards the country was at its lowest ebb as citizens put their personal interests ahead of the country.
“Patriotism is at the lowest point in this country. Nobody thinks about this country first, it has always been yourselves first, family second, ethnic group third, while the country comes like fifth to tenth to some people. So we need a reset and renewal of our attitude to be patriotic to make our nation prosperous and strong,” he said.
Mr Mahama made this call as the guest speaker at the thanksgiving ceremony of the St. Joseph The Worker Anglican Church 80th Anniversary held in Accra on Sunday.
According to him, the country had given a lot to its citizens and citizens must also put the country ahead of their personal interests.
To him, the seeming personal interest ahead of the national interest was as a result of the lack of opportunities for the young people under the current dispensation.
This, former President Mahama said, had necessitated the need to review the 1992 Constitution fora more pragmatic one which creates the opportunities for the citizenry.
“Our governance is in crisis so we need to reset, restart and reverse the constitution to plug the loopholes to make it clear to prevent the current situations we have in the governance system like what recently happened in Parliament, the constitutional crisis between them and the Supreme Court,” he underlined.
Moreover, he stated that in as much as there was the need for a constitutional reforms, the general public must work together to ensure peace prevailed before, during and after elections.
He called on all religious groups, leaders in societies and civil society organisations to raise their voices against any action that might result in violence before, during and after election.
He then pledged that the NDC as a party would do all it could to ensure peaceful elections.
Mr Mahama commended the church for 80 years of dedicated service and commitment to the congregation, the communities at Kaneshie and the nation at large.
The Bishop of the Anglican Church, Accra, Right Reverend Daniel sylvanus Mensah Torto, said the church has been a partner in development and would continue to play that role going forward.
He said over the past eight decades the church has stood as the pillar of faith, hope and service in the community and nation.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI & CECILIA LAGBA YADA
