Otabil’s silence on Meningitis, H1N1 outbreaks worrying – Bobie Ansah

Broadcast Journalist, Kwabena Bobie Ansah has questioned renowned Pastor, Mensah Otabil’s silence in the wake of the recent meningitis outbreak that has caused deaths in some Senior High Schools in the country.

According to him, he’s in the past two weeks carefully monitored the airwaves and though he’s heard Pastor Mensah Otabil’s sermons being broadcast, the revered man of God who’s known to speak his mind on national issues, has surprising kept mute on such an all-important national matter.

A meningitis outbreak at the Bawku Secondary Technical School has led to the death of a final year student there with nine other cases being detected. Seven cases out of the figure were recorded at the Bawku Secondary Technical while one was detected at Tempane Senior High School.

They have been admitted at the Bawku Presbyterian hospital.

The latest outbreak comes barely 24 hours after one person was reported dead from a suspected case of meningitis at Damongo Senior High School in the West Gonja district in the Northern region.




Nine other persons according to reports are also on admission at the Damango District Hospital. This comes after four students of the Kumasi Academy in the Ashanti region died of an outbreak of H1N1 popularly known as Swine Flu.

On Saturday a student of the Koforidua Secondary Technical School (SECTECH) also died of Meningitis at the Koforidua General Hospital. 22 students of the Koforidua SECTECH are currently being monitored after they came in contact with the deceased student.

Speaking to Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa FM, Bobie Ansah stated that these are critical national issues that the likes of Pastor Mensah Otabil, Prof. Adei, the Christian Council and other civil society organizations must not keep quiet about, but speak to get government to act decisively to end the deaths.

“This diseases are killing our students who are our future leaders each passing day, in the past two weeks I’ve listened to Pastor Otabil preach, but I’ve not heard him speaking a word about this worrying development. Hasn’t he heard of what is going on? or he’s not speaking because it’s not in the Bible, or such issues are to talked about in the church. Or it’s because there’s no congestion in his university (Central University) like it’s the case in the Senior Highs schools which is contributing to the spread of the disease.

“Where is the Christian Council of Ghana, Catholic Bishop Conference, why are they so quiet on this serious matter of national concern. I ask myself, is that how to build a country and develop it? These are issues we need the Civil Society Organizations, Prof Adei, Dr K.B Asante they are educationists, haven’t they heard about complaints coming from headmasters of the various schools, from Ghana Health Service.

Can’t they talk to the government of the day to sit up and deal with this matter because the situation is getting scary? These are voices that we should hear on these matters. They should speak!”

Source: kasapafmonline.com