The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, says youth groups such as the #FixTheCountry movement should rather be commended and not condemned for challenging the status quo.
Rt. Hon. Bagbin believes the #FixTheCountryNow movement and other youth groups must be encouraged because their activities are in response to the President’s clarion call for Ghanaians to be citizens and not spectators.
The major part of the year has seen organizers of the #FixTheCountry movement and several others taking to the streets to protest for better living conditions and rapid economic development.
Speaking through a virtual platform at the Inter-School Public Speaking Competition, the Speaker said, the youth must be encouraged to participate in the debate on nation-building.
“In recent times in Ghana, there have been some positive developments in the country that we should commend and not condemn. The formation of youth groups and movements in response to the call from the President to Ghanaians not to be spectators but citizens in the governance of the country should be encouraged and supported by all well-meaning Ghanaians.”
“So youth groups such as Youth in Politics, Youth in Development, #FixTheCountryNow are all positive developments that should be encouraged and supported. This resonates loudly with the call of the interschool public speaking competition for the youth of Ghana to participate in the debate on nation-building”, he added.
Some months ago, the #FixTheCountry campaign started on social media, with a lot of Ghanaians jumping on the trend.
The campaign sought to impress on the government to address Ghana’s numerous challenges, including youth unemployment, poor infrastructure, and high cost of living.
During the protests, the campaigners clad in red-head and armbands held placards with inscriptions some of which read, ‘A nation without patriotism is a dead nation’, We aim for waakye, they aim for V8s’, ‘Fix the Country, ‘A new Constitution for the People’, among others.
The organizers say they are not going to rest until the country gets better, explaining that the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian is their sole reason for the protests.
Don’t ascribe political motives to #FixTheCountry group; listen to them – Mahama to government
Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has also asked the government to prioritize the demands of the #FixTheCountry movement.
He insists that the demands of the group are legitimate and cannot be downplayed.
John Mahama explains, instead of ascribing political motives to their demands, the government should rather consider the genuine cry for help from the young citizens and the entire population.
“The speed with which hundreds of thousands of young people spontaneously took over social media and demanded that this country be fixed is a cautionary tale on how exactly the people feel about the way this county is being governed.”
“Rather than cynically scoffing at these calls, ascribing political motives to them, and pretending that the genuine cry for help from our citizens is the figment of the imagination of some political leaders, we should be lending a listening ear to these young people and indeed the general population.”
