One of the Conveners of the #FixTheCountry demonstration, Ernesto Yeboah, is incensed at President Akufo-Addo’s comments on the victory of the governing New Patriotic Party in the 2024 polls.
Speaking at the 29th-anniversary celebration of the NPP on Thursday, August 5, 2021, the President said “Today, the challenges that confront our country, the difficulties that we have been plunged into by the COVID-19 pandemic are going to give us the opportunity to grow stronger and stronger, and that strengthening of our party and its organs means one thing, I am very confident of it that on December 7, 2024, the new NPP presidential candidate is going to win the election.”
But speaking on Eyewitness News, Ernesto Yeboah, who’s also one of the leaders of the Economic Fighters League, said the President’s comments are insensitive, considering the current “hardship” in the country.
“They are not thinking about us. Who is thinking about election 2024? We want jobs, bread and many others. This is all they care about in these challenging times. Hearing these things make us angrier.”
“They keep pinning everything on COVID-19. They should give us a break,” he added.
He called on the youth to resist any attempt by the political ‘leaders’ to steal their future.
“They are stealing our future, for a people who have suffered slavery and colonialism. In fact, these are not leaders, they are enemies. We should resist these arrangements to cripple us. The current system we are running breeds charlatans. Let’s change the system and see if anything better will come out of it.”
The conveners of the #FixTheCountry movement are seeking the signatures of one million Ghanaians for a petition to demand a new constitution for the country.
The social media campaigners are targeting one million signatures to demand what they say will be a fresh constitution intended to represent the hope and aspirations of Ghanaians.
Describing the existing 1992 constitution as undemocratic, the group makes the point that the document exists under the guise of constitutional rule, and it is simply a tool deliberately designed to unfairly rob the citizenry of their due.
About Wednesday’s #FixTheCountry demonstration
Thousands of Ghanaians on Wednesday, August 4, 2021, participated in the much-publicised #FixTheCountry protest.
The demonstrators demanded among other things a new constitution and steps to address the many challenges facing the ordinary Ghanaian.
The protestors wielded placards with varying inscriptions including ‘#FixOurEducation System now’, ‘A new constitution now’, ‘Justice for Kaaka’ and ‘If Ghana was your personal property, would you run it like this?’, and several others.
The well-attended protest was to pile pressure on the government to address Ghana’s numerous challenges, including youth unemployment, poor infrastructure, and high cost of living.
The street protest comes after several weeks of social media mobilization amidst a legal tussle that nearly stopped the protest.
