Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor
One of the people leading the FixTheCountry protests has sparked outrage after endorsing the ongoing military take-over of a constitutionally elected government in Guinea.
Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, who calls himself Convenor of FixTheCountry, expressed his ‘elation’ on social media when he appeared to hail the unconstitutional action, which he has been advocating in Ghana as well.
On August 4, during their protest in Accra, he had said unlike the past where soldiers dissolved the First, Second, and Third Republics, the youth will soon dissolve the Fourth Republic in Ghana as ushered by the 1992 Constitution.
He had said specifically that, “We are no longer going to allow tribalism or politics to divide us. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Republics were dissolved by soldiers. Now it is the youth who will dissolve the 4th Republic which has been characterised by corruption and 419.”
As the events in Guinea unfolded, he made his intentions clear once again, reiterating his August 4 statements.
He said in series of Facebook posts “Neho! I welcome the news of a military coup in Guinea. Still waiting on confirmation of its success. Hopefully (sic) a new transition process is put in place quickly. Guinea shall work again.”
Another post said, “If only the People of Guinea had fixed themselves, all this won’t be happening! “Ghanaians, let’s please fix ourselves. We don’t want anyone to have any funny ideas.
“The 1992 Constitution shouldn’t be changed through the barrel of the Gun! It should be changed through our voices.
“No soldier can take away our sovereign right to decide the fate of our constitution. Neho!”
He added, “I don’t understand what is going on. Are the people of Guinea welcoming this illegal coup?
“Have they not read the insults on my Facebook page?
“A section of Ghanaians know Guinea better. They should listen to us la. Neho!
“If a Coup must be done in a pandemic, it must observe COVID-19 protocols. Mask up.
“You can’t make a coup like you are organising Sir John’s funeral. What is that? 100 percent for Guinea Coup.”
Not even those cautioning him against his treasonable statements could dissuade the so-called convenor who is believed to be a lawyer, from pushing his agenda.
Already, the group has started a fundraising campaign to finance their activities and has given the telephone numbers of key members whose accounts the public could make donations and contributions.
Tacit Endorsement
In the ensuing debate, opposition NDC MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, appears to support the coup in Guinea with a veiled conditional statement giving grounds for military adventurism in Africa.
He posted on social media that if steps are not taken quickly by African leaders to reverse the negative developmental trends, the era of military takeovers may return because factors that build fertile grounds for coup d’états are emerging in most African countries.
“The disturbing developments in Guinea which comes after similar undesirable military interventions in Mali, Chad, and Sudan must remind African leaders that the coup era of the 1960s and 80s may sadly return if the unwarranted thirst for third term, corruption, joblessness, poverty, manipulation of constitution, profligacy of the ruling elite and naked impunity are not curbed.
“Instead of waiting late in the day to hearten sanctions on failed democracies and regional blocs such as AU, ECOWAS, SADC and EAC should be boldly proactive in calling out their peers on the wrong track and demanding good governance that meets the expectations of the masses, particularly African youth,” he added.
Henry Nana Boakye, popularly called Nana B, who is the National Youth Organiser of the ruling NPP, reacted to the statement of the FixTheCountry leader, calling on the security agencies to keep an eye on his activities.
Nana B said on Facebook that, “So this FIX THE COUNTRY chant is all about applauding military coup. Barker H Vogues is the leader of this fix the country group and he is celebrating this nonsense. I implore our national security to keep a close eye on this individual and his assigns. It’s too bad he’s a lawyer.”