Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

Godwin Nii-Armah Okine aka Nii Smiley Byte is the Managing Editor of GhanaCelebrities.Com. He also serves as Founding Editor of Innonews24.Com, Religious Affairs Editor of BrutallyUncensored.Com and a Social Media Influencer and content creator for Via Fame PR. Godwin is a secular humanist who believes the biggest problem affecting Ghana is a penchant for groupthink. We all need to think for ourselves and not be too invested in the status quo. He believes every idea is open to scrutiny and nothing is 'sacred'. His personal motto is you can do anything you set your mind to. Find him on Facebook at Nii Smiley Byte and on Twitter @moonbyte. Contact [email protected].

Ghana: The Land Where the Leaders Have No Mercy and the Citizens-No Agency

03/29/2015 10:40 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

So let’s say you are staying in a bed and breakfast establishment. You enter into an agreement with the owner for you to be provided with three square meals per day. You haggle over a price, and you settle down to reap the fruits of your arrangement.

Then imagine after a couple of years the owners come to you. They’re having some problems with getting ingredients to cook, so their ability to keep you fed around the clock has been compromised. There are problems acquiring grain, water shortages that make cooking all the time difficult, other issues.

In light of this, they announce they can only provide you with one square meal per day. Worse, you have to keep paying the same rate you used to pay for three square meals. You aren’t happy, but what can you do? You tune yourself towards surviving under this new arrangement.

But wait, there’s more! Now they come to you to tell you that you have to pay MORE, to continue enjoying one square meal per day. Now the issues causing the shortage haven’t been fixed, you have no idea when you are returning to three square meals- yet you have to pay MORE to enjoy the one square meal per day? Have you ever heard of anything so outrageous?

I’m pretty sure anyone in this situation would flip their sh*t, literally. If you’re Ghanaian or know anything about the phenomenon called ‘dumsor’, you’ve probably realised by now where I’m going with this long, seemingly pointless analogy.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), announced during the week increases to the tariffs Ghanaians pay for electricity and water. The exact percentages are 2.63% for electricity and 1.06% for water.

A Rebuttal: ‘God Does Not Exist? You Must Be A Joker To Think So!’

03/18/2015 8:26 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

I was doing my usual morning routine of going through the articles on GhanaCelebrities.com when I came across the above titled piece.

Being one of those so-called atheists, I delved into the article to see what new knowledge has been gleaned that is so groundbreaking, so revolutionary that one can conclusively make the point that anyone must be a joker to believe God does not exist.

Instead what I found was just much more of the status quo, arguments with no factual basis but which you’re expected to take on ‘faith’; that most ‘be all and end all’ argument ender of the theist.

In an attempt at brevity, I’ll keep the arguments brief. The author raised some good questions atheists have about religion, but then deigned to skirt around giving the right answer, or misinterpreting the question entirely. Maybe by clarifying the questions a little more, we’ll get more on point answers in the inevitable re-rebuttal.

There is no evidence for God’s existence

Actually there isn’t; zero, zilch, nada. The problem here is Christians, or theists, often confuse belief with fact. The author makes this mistake, when his punchline for the answer to this question is that ‘God is eternal so he did not pop out of nowhere. He was before the beginning of time and still is and forever will’ that’s your belief; it does not make it fact. There are people right now who strongly believe they’re Napoleon Bonaparte, or Abraham Lincoln; all that earns them is a trip to an asylum.

In any other field of endeavour, cold, hard, refutable facts are the order of the day. Religion is the exception, because it runs on faith; but that does not give you the leeway to proclaim it as fact. When making a wild, difficult to gauge allegation, the burden of proof lies on you.

If God created the universe, who created God

It’s a simple argument, as far as I’m concerned. Theists remain adamant that someone must have created this universe, as it’s too vast, too complex, to have just sprung into being- therefore God must exist. That’s fine, but does the same argument not apply to God? If the universe cannot just spring into being, the same must apply to God.

The theist’s response, ‘God existence is not limited by time. He has always existed and will always exist. Hence, no one created him’ Going back to point one, this is a statement not backed by any evidence; and anyone who makes such a grandiose claim with so little proof as that which claims to establish God’s existence in any serious argument would be laughed out of the room.

MUST READ: Enough Arguing About Jesus | The Word Of God is Going To Settle This Argument Once And For All

03/16/2015 12:42 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

The back and forth between Mzbel and the rest of Ghana regarding her comments on Jesus Christ has gained significant prominence with every Tom, Dick, and Harry having very strong opinions on the matter. It has devolved into personal insults between Mzbel and Stacy and her husband, the architects behind ‘Restoration with Stacy’ the show … Read more

MUST READ: Just One More Point Of Separation | Ghana’s Current Religious Divide in Education Taking Focus Off What’s Most Important

03/6/2015 9:12 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

It’s the issue that has been raging the most the past fortnight or so. It has raised fundamental questions about the freedom of association as enshrined in our constitution; and has caused so much furore the President addressed it in both his State of the Nation and Independence Day speeches to the nation.

I refer, of course, to the brouhaha surrounding the question of whether students of differing faiths in our educational institutions should be forced to partake in activities not of their faith.

It has become such a contentious issue, with claims and counter claims by adherents to both Christianity and Islam. The Christians are essentially saying ‘if you go to Rome, you do what Romans do’, the Muslims are saying this is a secular state and one should not be forced to adhere to the tenets of a religion they do not believe in. The argument rages on with neither side ready to budge an inch.

The root cause of all these, of course, is religion. Good old Christianity and Islam, just another point of division in a country chock full of them already.

Penalty Shootout Loss Leaves Black Stars Devastated As Ivory Coast Hoist Second African Cup

02/8/2015 10:48 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

After a nerve wracking 120 minutes, penalty shootouts was needed to break the deadlock in the AFCON finals; and as is quite customary for Ghana, they lost to Cote d’Ivoire the honour of lifting the 2015 African Cup of Nations.

The very definition of déjà vu, the 9-8 loss mirrored in more ways than one, that from 1992 when Ghana lost on penalties to Ivory Coast in another Nations Cup final.

An uneventful 120 minutes of regulation time produced little chances, as both sides were at their cautious best. The game itself took a while to settle down, as nerves and an overly defensive approach stifled the creative football both sides have shown on their trek to the final.

Cote d’Ivoire started the stronger of the two, but Ghana grew into the game as the half wore on. Midway through the half, Atsu almost handed Ghana the lead; but his shot from the edge of the box struck the upright with Boubacar Barry beaten.

Dede went closer a few minutes later, finding himself in the box after Rahman’s pinpoint pass. His shot also struck the bar, the angle too tight for him to get the shot on target.

2015 AFCON Final Preview: Black Stars Out To Exorcise The Demons Of 1992

02/8/2015 12:47 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

After an eventful three weeks in Equatorial Guinea that has featured both sides of the African game, the tournament is set to draw to an end today with the grand finale in Malabo- kick off at 1900 GMT.

Amidst all the great goals, poor officiating, bumpy pitches, and crowd trouble; two teams have proven to be head and shoulders above everyone else. It’s those two, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire; who would go head-to-head for the African crown in tomorrow’s game.

Both teams have had eerily similar campaigns. They both breezed through qualifying, but then had the slowest of starts to the competition. Both topped their groups, and then went on to win both the quarter and semi finals by scoring three goals in each game.

Aside the similarity in their progress in this tournament, the biggest backdrop to this clash of giants is the history behind this clash. Amidst the plethora of matches the two teams have contested in, none looms larger than the 1992 African Cup Final in Senegal.

That contest in Dakar ended with Cote d’Ivoire lifting the trophy after penalties, their first and only AFCON win to date. That Black Stars team was led by- excluding the final where he was unable to play due to suspension- Ghana’s soccer maestro Abedi Ayew Pele.

It was a painful defeat, especially as Ghana had a very star studded team who was everyone’s favourites. A little over twenty years later, a chance has popped up for Ghana to avenge that defeat.

2015 AFCON: DR Congo Beats Equatorial Guinea on Penalties to Win Bronze Medal

02/7/2015 8:06 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

The third place play-off has never been the most loved of games- two losing semi-finalists have to come and pretend failing to make the final doesn’t sting. Judging by the celebration by the DRC after the final whistle though, it seems like they do not mind the bronze medal one bit.

After 90 minutes of football that did not feature all that much action, the game moved straight to the dreaded penalty shootouts. The hosts’ showed a remarkable lack of composure from the spot, losing to the DRC by 4-2.

Having both lost semi-finals to more illustrious opponents, neither side seemed particularly driven to pick that third place. Equatorial Guinea looked a little livelier, but the game suffered from a lack of chances that made it into a snooze fest.

The closest anyone got was when Congolese midfielder Cedrick Mabwati made an insane run through the home defence, but then elected to pass when one-on-one with Felipe Ovono. The pass caught Mbokani a off guard, and he was unable to finish the opportunity.

The Christians Are Equally Evil | Religious Conflict Tearing Apart Central African Republic: Ten Of Thousands Of Muslims Fleeing Persecution At The Hands Of Christian Militias

02/7/2015 7:34 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

Often a lot of criticism is thrown Islam’s way for the increasingly violent fanatics who commit deplorable acts in the god’s name. What people often forget is that Christianity has been responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind.

The truth is religion empowers people to do their worst, and if they genuinely believe it is for a good cause there’s no convincing them otherwise; another reason organised religion is increasingly becoming anachronistic in the modern world.

Disturbing reports from the Central African Republic point to a brewing religious war that is displacing tens of thousands of people, mostly Muslims. They have come under attack from Christian militias, whose only valid reason for attacking these people is that they bow to one violent, egomaniacal god instead of another.

CAF Fines Equatorial Guinea $100, 000 For Their Rowdy Fan Behaviour Against Ghana: Also Gives Them One Game Suspended Sentence Of Playing Without Their Fans’ Attendance + They Have To Pay The Medical Bills Of All Injured Ghanaian Fans

02/6/2015 5:24 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

If you saw the scenes in Malabo yesterday you’ll be feeling several strong feelings at this time. Anger, Shame, Disgust; these are all legitimate reactions to seeing people react so badly to losing at a sport.

The conduct of the fans was terrible, and the hope was that CAF would come down hard on the host nation. As it turns out they barely did anything; this punishment amounting to not more than giving a degenerate child a fond tap on the head.

For an incident that left people in danger of their lives, and some got injured and are in hospital at this time; a much more severe punishment should have been administered.

Black Stars Reach AFCON Final With Comfortable Win Over Host Equatorial Guinea A in Game Marred By Fan Trouble

02/5/2015 10:07 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

The African Cup of Nations semi finals continued with the Stars taking on the host, and the billed tough game turned out to be a stroll in the park for a super charged Stars’ team.

Whilst the game itself was a good show from the Stars, crowd trouble towards the end lengthened the game by over half an hour as officials and police fought to restore order within the stadium.

Skipper Asamoah Gyan failed to make the starting line-up after picking up a knock in the final minutes against Guinea, Jordan Ayew was roped in to replace the Al-Ain forward.

The host had eliminated Tunisia in the previous round, and a wave of momentum seemed to be carrying them to an inevitable final slot; the only obstacle Ghana’s Black Stars.

Christian Myth #1: You Need the Grace of God to Succeed

10/12/2014 12:45 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

It is our daily bread down here in Africa, our alpha and omega. It is the public refrain of everyone, from half baked Christians to butt kissing politicians and money seeking pastors; it is the biggest myth in the history of mankind.

I refer of course, to the sentence “you need the grace of God to succeed”. I often complain about our overreliance on religious intervention in our lives, something we do to the detriment of hard work and logical reasoning. But quite often one can look the other way because it is a matter of subjective choice, based on what one believes or does not believe. What cannot happen is for someone to state it as a matter of objective fact.

That is the cardinal sin committed by pastors of this era, and which has been compounded by one Rev Dr Boadi Nyamekeye, according to this piece on myjoyonline.

Here’s what he said, quoted verbatim “No matter what or who you are, if you don’t glide on the wings of God, you will fail. In our socio-economic turbulence you need the grace of God to succeed”

Firstly I get why pastors say that, after all you need to keep your congregation hooked so they keep coming back for more. Though in the past people were lured based on a better life in the aftermath of this earthly existence (the basis of Karl Marx’s ‘opium of the masses’ hypothesis); the shift in recent times is to promise success here on earth, and that simply cannot happen because all evidence points to the contrary.

If this pastor’s position was true, all the rich or relatively successful people would be Christians, and all the poor in society would be those who does not follow the tenets of the religion.

The situation on the ground is far from that, and indeed for centuries sociologists and anthropologists have found that it’s often the poor, downtrodden and exploited in society who seek religion as a refuge.

Besides one does not need decades old scientific data to spot the flaw in this thesis. The world is full of successful people of all colours, religious and non religious alike. In fact, most of the western world have moved to a more secular existence, with religion used as a public facade but rarely practiced seriously; yet most of these countries are ten times more successful than Ghana, ‘the most religious nation in the world’.

Christians are the Biggest Argument Against Christianity

08/9/2014 2:29 pm

by Godwin Nii-Armah Okine, Managing Editor

The condescension and barely masked pity Christians put on whenever someone of no faith put their arguments across can be pretty galling at times. At that moment they reinforce their beliefs in how they are on the right path and how the other person would ‘see’ when judgement day comes around.

It’s seen everywhere, even in the comments section of this site whenever one of these posts is published. Yet the truth cannot be further from what is portrayed. To the unbeliever, Christians themselves remain the biggest argument against turning to Christ.

And you know why that is? It’s because we are humans, and humans inherently are selfish, greedy, covetous, and millions of other deprecating qualities. Of course, we can be wonderful, kind, courteous, and millions of other virtuous qualities as well, but one does not cancel out the other.

In the words of Stannis Baratheon in the novel ‘A Clash of Kings’, “A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward”

As humans we are a veritable mix of both qualities, and it shows in our interactions with each other. Yet Christians like to pretend it’s not, and that they are striving for a certain holiness as prescribed by their faith.

Yet I am surrounded by people who break the creed they are supposed to go by all the time. People who are not supposed to lie, cheat, steal, fornicate, insult others, etc; do so with impunity every single day. They go through the week racking up their sin points, then go to church on Sunday and come back and pretend they’re better than everyone else.

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