John Mahama
Former President John Dramani Mahama is distancing himself from the #FixTheCountry demonstrators, saying he has never financed the group.
According to him, he believed that the ruling government was only spreading those lies to create the impression that leaders of the #FixTheCountry Movement had collected money to detach the leadership from their followers.
The former President said “it’s an “absolute lie”, a claim by communicators of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) government that he sponsored the protest with ¢1.5 million”.
The former President who was addressing the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs as part of his Thank You Tour said “And the government communicators go and lie that I have given them [#FixTheCountry] £85,000 and I have given them ¢1.5 million for their demonstration. Absolute lie! Those old Machiavellian tactics don’t work. I haven’t given ‘fix it’s one single cedi”.
Mr. Mahama emphasized that “Although the youth involved in the movement did not engage in acts of vandalism, the government should not take their concerns for granted.
“And so, when government thinks that these young people; we must demonize them…it’s not because of NPP. It’s all of us. They are expressing dissatisfaction in our collective leadership, and the earlier we listen to them, dialogue with them, the better”, Mr. Mahama said.
According to him, “Our youth are getting disappointed in our democratic governance, they don’t see any future for themselves. One of the major tragedies of this administration which is intangible is the fact that our institutions are being bastardized. As the institutions are bastardized people don’t see any future in terms of what opportunities are available for them”.
Mr. Mahama under whose regime the Unemployed Graduate Association was formed said “Youth unemployment has been a problem for governments all over the world but is particularly a problem for governments in Africa”.
He continued that “We have twelve million graduates coming out of universities and tertiary institutions all across the African continent yet we are producing six and seven million jobs a year and so what happens to the other five million graduates who cannot find employment”.
“It is beginning to show, in Nigeria, they have the #EndSARS movement, it was like a rebellion against police oppression but who are those who took part in the SARS movement? It was the unemployed youth” he added.
“Let us not think if you are enriching yourselves, you are safe. When the youth rise, they think that everybody who is living a good life is one of the people oppressing him that is why he cannot get a job. We must not allow that situation to happen in Ghana” he added.
BY Daniel Bampoe