Ghana can be truly be independent and develop as a nation if only its leadership and the citizens desist from over reliance on foreign aid, a pastor has said. Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah, Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, said it was regrettable that after 54 years of independence, the country was still relying on other nations for the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, shelter and the construction of roads. Dr Onyinah was delivering a lecture on the centenary celebrations of the life and works of Mr William Ofori-Atta on the topic; “Embedding the work of missions in Ghana: The Church of Pentecost as a model” in Tamale at the weekend. The lecture sought to draw parallels between the Christian life and political life of William Ofori-Atta and how the two influenced each other. Dr Onyinah said it was sad that many Ghanaians still thought that without foreign aid, there could be no development and that if the Church of Pentecost model was adopted it would go a long way to save the nation. He said it was important for the generation of today to go back and look at the sacrifices made by their predecessors and take lessons that could “liberate us from the woes of today.” Dr Onyinah said Ghanaians should not continue with the blame game, where everybody blames another to be responsible for the problems of the nation. Rather, he said, the time had come for Church leaders, politicians, civil servants, business men and women as well as all Ghanaians to take responsibility for the challenges and work towards the betterment of the nation. Touching on the life of William Ofori-Atta, affectionately called “Paa Willie”, Dr Onyinah described him as a politician, a founding member of Ghana’s independence movement, a lawyer, Christian, educationist and above all a statesman. He was born on October 10, 1910 at Kyebi and died on July 14, 1988. Dr Onyinah said “The motivating force of his life was service to his neighbors and nation, often at great personal discomfort and detriment to himself. Source: GNA