CHURCH & STATE IN BED – WHERE STANDS THE PEOPLE?

Has the non - denominational church in Ghana ever heard of liberation theology? Are there no ‘men of God’ in Ghana who have listened to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount? Did they not understand that to be a man of God means to be an avowed defender of the poorest people in the society? If they did, how come we have the church hierarchy offending the poorest people in Ghana and rooting with the prosperous in the class war? Well, I know about the church in Latin America and in other parts of the world where it is actively involved in liberation theology whereby the teachings of Jesus Christ have been interpreted in relation to liberation from unjust economic, political or social conditions. This is where the church and it's leaders interprets and the Christian faith through the poor’s suffering, their struggle and their hope. This form or version of Christian theology also actively and with consecrated determination, work against the oppressor’s establishment just as Christ preached and lived - that which led to his crucifixion on the cross. In those countries, at least, some men of God side and work with the poorest masses. The Peruvian priest and strongest advocate of liberation theology, Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez says, ‘’God is revealed in the historical ‘praxis’ of liberation. It is the situation - economic, social or political – and our passionate and reflective involvement in it, which mediates the word of God’. Today, the true word of God is mediated through the cries of the poor and oppressed. Liberation theology has arisen principally within the church first in Latin America, and now universally, as a moral reaction to the massive levels of poverty in our society caused by social injustice which is perpetuated by our political, religious and business leaders. The Vatican has openly criticized liberation theology- which started in the Catholic Church anyways – because the priests and laymen of the church - such as the Peruvian father Gustavo - who identify with this theology know, and have openly said that the hierarchy of the church in our society, our ‘Osofos’ and bishops, cardinals and deacons – all these people fall under the same privileged class with the oppressive politicians and business men of our society today since our so – called independence from colonizers. The advocates of liberation theology have criticized the church for its refusal to root for the poor in a class struggle. I have joined that movement for a while now. In Nicaragua, the priests of the church in the late 1970’s took liberation theology even to a revolutionary point of armed struggle by joining the Sandinistas to form a poor people’s government in 1979. In Haiti, liberation theology brought Jean - Bertrand Aristide, a catholic Priest of the salesian order to power as first democratically - elected President of that country. In Mexico, Peru and many other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe, liberation theology – taken to the extreme - has led to the formation of various political parties based on a theocracy which has further led to popular political and armed struggle over the years although we know that Christ advocated non – violence in any social, political or liberation struggle. This is where true men of God’s church root for the poorest people in society’s ongoing class war. So: liberation theology says the church can get involved in politics as long as the church and its hierarchy will be on the side of the oppressed, the poor people. In this regard, the ‘men of God’ of our nation Ghana, have no moral reaction to the ongoing injustice, characterized by pure squalor, which has led to a general apathy among the people. Our ‘men of God’ are unable or rather are incapable or even uninterested in interpreting the Christian faith through the poor’s suffering, their struggle and hope simply because they are in a clique with the politicians and business men – or perhaps, because they are politicians and business men themselves. These days, names of pastors and their respective political party affiliations have been published for all of us to know what we long suspected. This means it is no longer a conspiracy theory – they are indeed in bed with the politicians here in Ghana – since there has not been denials of these publications. A relevant question to ask at this point in my books, is whether or not; these ‘men of God’ know that they are part and parcel of the group of people responsible for the mass poverty of our people? I thought that Jesus Christ identified with the poor during his ministry? So why are they claiming to be preaching the teachings of Christ whiles acting the complete opposite of the Christian messiah’s teachings? Did Christ ever wined and dined with the King of the Jews? Not that I have read of. However, I have read and heard of Christ’s wining and dining with the poor people in Galilee. So are we talking about a different Christ here in Ghana? Others keep saying we are a former colonized people. Granted that to be true, and we know that the colonizers oppressed the indigenous people in colonial times. Are we indigents of this nation going to pretend that we are a formerly oppressed people too? I cannot imagine that. Again in my books, we the indigenous people – not the foreigners residing in Ghana - are currently oppressed with public utility prices and services, we are oppressed with public bureaucracies and bottle necks, we are oppressed with discrimination and patronage, with the total lack of meritocracy in our commonly created opportunities as a nation, we are also oppressed by the ‘majestic egalitarianism’ of the law. We are oppressed with church collections, donations, festivals, rituals and offertories. Indeed, we are oppressed with unjustifiable and exploitative taxes and levies. public office Corruption is the greatest tool of oppression here. And what do we hear? a mute church unashamed of their complacency in this social injustice. This time, the oppressors are not white men. They are our own brothers and sisters - who by the way are even more brutal than the white colonial oppressors. For example, the white colonial administrators in the colonial governments were less corrupt with public resources than the current indigenous administrators in our governments. In similar terms, the white priests and ‘men of God’ in colonial times took less collections, no special donations and offertories from their colonial congregation. This should rationally make the colonial oppressor more preferable to the indigenous ones - if we are to choose the lesser of two evils. As if this sort of oppression is not enough, our ‘men of God’ who we expect to stand with us in this situation, according to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the theology of liberation, are on the side of the oppressor. They have completely abandoned liberation theology – that is if they have ever embraced it. The church hierarchy in Ghana is prosperous and stand with the prosperous so they are preaching prosperity. They abhor poverty, so they dissociate from the poor masses and their poor and meek aspirations. Or do these ‘men of God’ in Ghana want us to give them a biblical bases for why they must interpret the teachings of Jesus Christ in relation to liberation from unjust economic, political or social conditions as well as from sin? That has already been long established. Let them refer to Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 10:34, Luke 22:35-38 where one will discover that the mission of Jesus Christ brought a sword which stirred controversy and civil strife and not peace. For there shouldn’t, and cannot be peace in the midst of poverty and social injustice in a mass scale such as we have among our people. If our ‘men of God’ understood this, the non – denominational church and its men and women in Ghana today may stop being a hypocritical bunch pretending to be neutral, or even on the side of the people, when indeed, they form part of the oppressor’s regimes that we have past and currently enduring as a people. Rather, they will interpret the Christian faith through the poor’s suffering, their struggle and hope. Amenga – Etego Akaabitono SaCut – The writer is a political journalist, broadcaster and ghost writer rassacut@gmail.com www.facebook.com/sacut

saCut Amenga-Etego: I BROKE THE NEWS - PRESIDENT MILLS IS DEAD

saCut Amenga-Etego: I BROKE THE NEWS - PRESIDENT MILLS IS DEAD

When I Joined The Table Of Men

It was a Saturday night. We just returned home late night from a whole day's trip to Cape Coast to meet a crowd outside the main gate. I knew something was terribly wrong. What is wrong? I asked. Apparently, My landlady has been dead two days without notice. Some female neighbors only noticed late on the day. Police said it was weekend and their men are few. Tenants must take responsibility of conveying remains into the car to the mortuary. Everybody was scared to enter the dark room where the dead woman sat on a chair waiting to be conveyed. Stench was unbearable. Nobody could sleep. Her room is just steps away from my crib. Then her sister noticed me arrive and she calls out 'General help us...we are afraid' ...what...??? Afraid of your own dead sister? I just had to take off my cloths, leaving my boxers, improvised gloves and masks. Together with four other neighbors, we got a first- hand undertaker experience ...Mehn! It was not a joke! If you're not brave and bold, don't call yourself a General because when the moment of truth comes, you must have to rise to the occasion. Well, I had to call on God for help when I got inside the room! But we did it nevertheless.

Now I needed the strongest disinfectant on earth afterwards!!

saCut Amenga-Etego: INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC)

saCut Amenga-Etego: INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC)

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC)

Marketers are beginning to understand that their brands live in the connections, and that they must seize the opportunity by creating an integrated communications strategy. The objective of marketing communications is to enhance brand equity by moving customers along a customer experience path to purchase that leads to advocacy for the brand. Mass communication plays an essential role to inform and educate customers and prospects about brands, new products their benefits and to enhance brand image. The IMC goal is to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time in the right place. It is critical for marketers to craft an effective integrated marketing communications plan that delivers clear, consistent and compelling messages. Marketers must explore new methods to leverage all elements of the communication mix and blend traditional, digital an social media into a single, cohesive, holistic approach. American Association of Advertising Agencies (also 4A's) in 1989, defining IMC as "an approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign through a well-coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other."[1] The 4A's definition of IMC recognizes the strategic roles of various communication disciplines (advertising, public relations, sales promotions, etc.) to provide clarity, consistency, and increased impact when combined within a comprehensive communications plan. Basically, it is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels. • The Journal of Integrated Marketing Communication from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University refers to IMC as "a strategic marketing process specifically designed to ensure that all messaging and communication strategies are unified across all channels and are centered around the customer."[2] IMC is used practically to allow one medium's weakness to be offset by another medium's strength, with elements synergized to support each other and create greater impact. • A more contemporary definition states, "True IMC is the development of marketing strategies and creative campaigns that weave together multiple marketing disciplines (paid advertising, public relations, promotion, owned assets, and social media) that are selected and then executed to suit the particular goals of the brand. Instead of simply utilizing various media to help tell a brand's overall story, with IMC the marketing leverages each communication channel's intrinsic strengths to achieve a greater impact together than each channel could achieve individually. It requires the marketer to understand each medium's limitation, including the audience's ability/willingness to absorb messaging from that medium. This understanding is integrated into a campaign's strategic plan from the very beginning of planning - so that the brand no longer simply speaks with consistency, but speaks with planned efficacy.[5] This concept inherently provides added benefits that include: a singular/synchronized brand voice and experience, cost efficiencies generated through creativity and production, and opportunities for added value and bonus. Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) weaves diverse aspects of business and marketing together. These include: Prevailing Organizational culture and sub-culture The organization's vision and mission Attitudes and behaviors of employees & partners Communication within the company Four P's Price, pricing plans, bundled offerings Product (product design, accessibility, usability) Promotion Place (point of purchase, in-store/shopper experience) Advertising Broadcasting/mass advertising: broadcasts, print, internet advertising, radio, television commercials Outdoor advertising: billboards, street furniture, stadiums, rest areas, subway advertising, taxis, transit.Online advertising: mobile advertising, email ads, banner ads, search engine result pages, blogs, newsletters, online classified ads, media ads etc. Direct marketing: these would include direct mail, telemarketing, catalogs, shopping channels, internet sales, emails, text messaging, websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional letters, outdoor advertising, telemarketing, coupons, direct mail, direct selling, grassroots/community marketing, mobile etc. Online/internet marketing: E-commerce Search engine optimization (SEO)Search engine marketing (SEM)Mobile Marketing, Email marketing Content marketing, Social Media ( Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, Foursquare, Pinterest, Youtube, Wikipedia, Instagram)etc. Sales & customer service: These are Sales materials (sell sheets, brochures, presentations)Installation, customer help, returns & repairs, billing. Public Relations: Special events, interviews, conference speeches, industry awards, press conferences, testimonials, news releases, publicity stunts, community involvement, charity involvement & events. Promotions: promotional activities would include: Contests, coupons, product samples (freebies), premiums, prizes, rebates, special events. Trade shows: Activities here may include, Booths, product demonstrations etc. Corporate philanthropy: Donations, volunteering, charitable actions are all considered corporate philanthropy. It is when these varying aspects of business and marketing are weaved together with an integrated approach that an effective campaign can be achieved. REFERENCES: American Marketing association Wikipedia.org Integrated marketing communications by David Pickton (Author), Amanda Broderick (Author) FEB. 2005 American Association of Advertising Agencies The Journal of Integrated Marketing Communication from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University

I BROKE THE NEWS - PRESIDENT MILLS IS DEAD

Dear President Mills, I wrote you several open letters when you lived and reigned over Ghana. When You were alive, I met and shook hands with you only once. Now that you are gone, it’s been one year already, a lot of water has passed under the bridge. Many things have changed since your departure which gripped the entire nation for some time. President Mahama is ruling now. Of course he had your blessings. I remember that particular afternoon of your departure of July 24th 2012. At the time, I worked for XFM, a private radio station run by Mr. Herbert Mensah. The man run down the stairs into the radio station studio shouting loudly ‘Sacut, the president is dead’. I went for the computer, and hit on social media instantly whiles he took to the microphone. We broke the news of your demise via the radio station. And that experience has left an indelible mark. I still don’t understand how come I was in the right position to make your death announcement on social media first in Ghana. I don’t want to believe it was a coincidence. I have since your departure, met, spoken and listened to people who were very close to you whiles you were in office. I have learned many new things about you. One of the things I learned about you after your death is that you read the letters I wrote to you. I didn't realize that - at first. I know now because some of the people who were very close to you told me. They told me you wept on one occasion upon reading one of my letters due to half-truths, pure lies and biting lyrics laced in it. When I heard that for the first time, I was deeply saddened and full of remorse though I did not weep. To be truthful I did not come to your funeral partly because of guilt for some of the things I said about you whiles you were alive. But also because I don’t like joining the crowd so I have been following from a distance. It has given me a chance to reflect on many of those things. And I realize that indeed, I was unfair to you in many of my writings and utterances. On many occasions, I wrote things about you, and to you without really knowing for a fact if what I am saying is true or not. Other times, I based what I said to you in those letters and articles on hear say. I was consumed by an evil genius who just wanted to discredit you by all means. There were times I wrote about you purely out of malice. Upon reflection, it is obvious to me I had no basis in making many allegations against you or making aspersions on you. Now that you are gone, I know better, I cannot undo the damage of my misadventure. What I can do is to openly admit – and show remorse – as I am doing now, not to say that I have suddenly abandoned by views on you but to show that I am human and my actions can be manipulated by irresistible forces but who is not afraid or ashamed to admit his weakness. Even though I feel sorry about some of the things I said to you and about you when you were alive, and the biting lyrics with which I said it, I still want you to understand that I really never admired you. I don’t think you succeeded in your political endeavors. Many people will be offended by this plane opinion - understandably because they think opposite. And many of these people who admired, loved and praised you hate me so much today as you are gone simply because of our diverse conclusions about you. As for me, I don’t hate them. I see them as my brothers and sisters who disagree with me as you always preached whiles alive. Unfortunately, some of your disciples are not practicing what you preached. They hate me bitterly because they saw you weep over some of my malicious letters. Indeed, they read them for themselves. And even though they all say that you were a forgiving person, some of them fail to learn from your virtues for which reason they can’t forgive some of us. But if what they say about you being a truly peaceful person is true, I know you will forgive me – even from the ancestral world. If you were here today, I would have physically come to kneel down and hold your legs. The good thing is that there are a few good men among those people who worked with you, and who you left behind. There is hope we can make amends. God be with you till we meet again Amenga – Etego 'Commandante' SaCut – The writer is a Multi – media journalist, political activist, broadcaster and ghost writer

POWER EXTINCTION IN THE NDC

First, they said the Rawlings' were ''finished'' because the Ahwois were in - charge with #1. Now they say the Ahwois are ''finished'' because the Mahamas are in - charge with #1. So we can tell who is next to 'finish' in the line of ''power extinction'' in the NDC. Just we can't tell who is next to be in - charge I guess a lot of that will depend on the outcome of upcoming national delegates congress in November where we should expect ''Mahama camp'' ''Ahwois camp'' ''Mosquito camp'' ''Rawlings camp'' ''Wayo wayo camp'' etc etc. I just can't wait for campaign to start because i feel a mad rush of political blood in my veins....;;)) My camp is national youth organizer and propaganda secretary positions in the national executive committee of the NDC which my friends and allies are in cahoots with me to annex. In case your eyes are on the same price, and you're not in our clique, you are here by declared our ''political enemy'' - and we will not treat you with kids gloves - between now and congress. Do you understand?? Last time they stole the verdict and short - changed the NDC youth. This time is retribution time.. http://www.modernghana.com/news/258813/1/ndc-youth-finger-mills.html