The Ghanaian Minaret

Techiman, Bono East: Some Muslims of the Techiman municipality in the Bono East region have convened for Salat al Istisqa (prayer for rain).

The aim of the prayer was to seek Allah’s intercession as a result of minimal rainfall recorded in the municipality, which is affecting farming activities and heightening the fear of drought and looming food insecurity.

“Since the beginning of July, there wasn’t any rain here, so we decided to follow the footsteps of the holy prophet,” said Imam Idris Suleiman, the Techiman Municipal Chief Imam of Ahlusunnah Wal Jamaah, in an interview.

The Imam who led the prayer said the occasion also provided an opportunity for the people to seek forgiveness from Allah and hope for Allah’s mercy to provide the needed rainfall.

He said the lack of rain has caused most farmers to run at a loss, knowing very well that the period was supposed to be a rainy season in the country.

It would be recalled that in the past weeks, the Muslim communities in Manwe and Kpongu, small farming communities in the Wa East District, also held the special rain prayer to beseech Allah for the needed rain to save their livelihoods.

The community had gone on a two-week spell of no rain, causing panic among farmers as plants began to wilt due to a lack of rain.

The region eventually witnessed some rains the following day, prompting a sigh of relief as farmers remained hopeful that the rains would continue, allowing them to salvage their crops and secure a decent harvest.

The northern regions have largely been hit with drought, which experts have attributed to climate change caused by global warming.

Smith Wayo Mahama, a climate change expert and lecturer at the Tamale Technical University, said even if the rains eventually come, it may not be enough for crops to yield.

“There are changes in the atmospheric secretion patterns, which is leading to the stalling of storm tracks,” he said.