Leader of the Economic Fighters League (Fighters), Ernesto Yeboah, has expressed concern over the ongoing national debate surrounding the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, arguing that it may be diverting attention from Ghana’s more pressing socio-economic challenges.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Yeboah admitted that he had previously paid little attention to LGBTQI issues and acknowledged holding some of the prejudices common in Ghanaian society.
“As I said the other day, I have never really paid much attention to LGBTQI issues. In fact, I must admit that I carry some of the prejudices common in our society. But the passage of the anti-LGBTQI Bill by Parliament has set off all my alarm bells,” he wrote.
He noted that the debate sparked by the Bill had prompted him to seek a deeper understanding of LGBTQI issues and encouraged others to engage with the subject more responsibly.
“What concerns me is that I am beginning to realise how little I know about the subject. Some of you may cringe at certain things I say. If so, forgive me. I am learning,” he added
Mr. Yeboah said he is open to reading books, articles, studies, and personal experiences, and is willing to engage directly with members of the LGBTQI community in Ghana to broaden his understanding.
Despite describing himself as still learning, he maintained that the fundamental freedoms of all citizens must be protected.
“At the same time, there is one thing I am already certain about. I am still learning about LGBTQI issues and challenging my own prejudices, but no citizen’s fundamental freedoms should be under attack. For that reason, I stand with the LGBTQI+ community,” he stated.
According to him, the Bill may have produced the opposite effect of its intended purpose by increasing public interest and discussion on LGBTQI matters.
“If the intention of this Bill was to make me ignore LGBTQI issues, it has had the opposite effect. I now find myself paying more attention to the matter than ever before,” he wrote.
Mr. Yeboah further questioned whether politicians were using the debate to distract the public from critical national concerns such as unemployment, poverty, healthcare, infrastructure deficits, inequality, corruption, and economic hardship.
“I cannot shake the feeling that our politicians are fooling us,” he said.
He argued that emotionally charged issues often dominate public discourse while more pressing matters affecting ordinary citizens receive less attention.
Drawing on examples from countries including India, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Gabon, Singapore, Bhutan, and the Cook Islands, he observed that attempts to criminalise homosexuality in some jurisdictions have often led to increased public debate and scrutiny rather than reducing attention to the issue.
“The Bill has made LGBTQI one of the most talked-about subjects in the country,” he noted.
Mr. Yeboah suggested that future arrests or legal disputes arising from the legislation could generate even greater public interest.
Concluding his post, he urged Ghanaians to focus on whether leaders are addressing the concerns that most directly affect citizens.
“Are our politicians genuinely solving a pressing national problem, or are they giving us a highly emotional issue to debate while the deeper crises affecting millions of Ghanaians remain unresolved?” he asked.
He pointed to issues such as unemployment among professionals, including nurses, agricultural college graduates, environmental health officers, and trained teachers, as areas requiring greater national attention.
Source: Adomonline