Justice Otibu Darko: Is the voters will the will of God?

“May the will of God be done in this coming elections.” This statement is very common among African religious people, it is a way of portraying our submissions to God and accepting that whatever happens is His will.

But the multimillion-dollar question is: If the will of God is the will of the voters then why do we have so many misfortunes, abject poverty, unemployment, corruption, and hunger characterized by our leadership in this part of the world?

(Proverbs 10:22) The blessings of the Lord maketh rich and add no sorrows to it.
This consequently should have made us have a better standard of life if God choses our leaders for us.

Now I will want us to delve a little bit into how leadership has evolved from the time of creation.

When God created heaven and earth, He was directly involved with the rulership of the nations. He directly related to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, directly related to Abraham (described him as a friend of God) 2 Chronicles 20:7b.

Fast forward, the people of Israel went into captivity and in there, it was proposed that Judges should take over the running of the people. From there, a very significant incident happened in the Bible and that is exactly where I will focus.

Now, pay critical attention here: In the book of 1 Samuel 8:4-21, the elders of Israel gathered and decided to let Kings rule them after a long period of being ruled by judges and prophets. When this news got to Samuel, he was displeased by the decision and asked them to give him some time to confer with God. He then gave them feedback that letting man rule over them as a King had some ramifications: i.e taking the best of their fields, appointing captains over his fifties and thousands, etc.

However, the people insisted and God allowed. This paragraph points to the fact that men from time immemorial have had the choice to choose who leads them. These choices do have consequences.

Elections have brought good and bad consequences on countries over the period. In 1865, the biggest democracy in the world ( America ) had their president (Abraham Lincoln) assassinated. However, he was the one who abolished the slave trade. In 1963, John F Kennedy improved the American space program, brought the American economy out of recession by growing their GDP by a rate of 6.6% yet he was assassinated. Were these the will of God?

In Libya, they had a leader in the shape of Muammar -Al Ghadafi who made sure their oil proceeds were utilized to best meet the basic needs of the people. Same Libya decided to change leadership and the country is in total distress now. So the question resonates; was that the will of God?

Ghana will be having its elections on the 7th of December 2020. It’s a two-horse race between the incumbent, (NPP) and the biggest opposition ( NDC). The will of the majority will be the ultimate will of the nation. We however shouldn’t take it as an absolute decision of God.

After the elections, it will be left with the people to engage in the ruling process, to critique when criticism is due, to commend when commendation is due. Our greatest threat to our democracy and development is not the politicians who take undue advantage of the people but the supporters and opinion leaders who keep mute or defend them.

The author, Justice Otibu Darko, is a Freelancer and a Chemist.