FixtheCountry: The Story So Far

On the 3rd of May, 2021, something big happened in Ghana. Something unprecedented. Only the new media could make it possible.

If Joshua Boye-Doe (aka KalyJay) had written a 2000 word long feature in the Daily Graphic about the problems bedeviling the country due to the incompetence of the NPP-NDC duopoly, a few hundred people might have read it and maybe two would have reached out.

But majority of Ghanaians, the young and adult populace on social media wouldn’t have heard about it, and maybe the Daily Graphic wouldn’t have published the article anyway.

The paper that did not see Ejura as worthy enough to feature on its front would have probably hidden a #FixTheCountry article somewhere else–between three electronic goods adverts. I doubt if they would have published it even.

Enter the internet and social media. A reading platform available to every smartphone user, and Twitter, the social media platform that inspires the most hashtags.

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It was easier to sound the clarion call with three little words than a feature long article or speech delivered on TV or radio.

KalyJay named a couple of things wrong with Ghana and tweeted #FixtheCountry.

That set the ball rolling. It was as good as Mohamed Bouazizi setting himself on fire in the streets of Tunis. It was as good as Rosa Parks saying ‘my feet hurt.’ It was as good as Martin Luther King Jnr. saying ‘I have a dream.’

Macho Kaaka had a dream as well. He wanted Ejura fixed. He wanted his community developed and its myriad of problems taken care of. His allegiance to community mattered to him more than the party he belonged to. Don’t let his dream die. Keep it alive. #FixEjura.

Few weeks later, government officials with verified accounts reported KalyJay’s account and it got suspended by Twitter.

That’s the kind of Government you have, Ghana. A government that does not tolerate criticism and sees anybody not singing their praises as the enemy. It’s political vindictiveness of the lowest form.

Joshua lost access to his Twitter account for sometime, but the horse had already bolted. Almost every Ghanaian on Twitter was tweeting #FixtheCountry, using the hashtag on Facebook, and it wasn’t long before a leader emerged, calling on others to join him to petition the police about an intended #fixthecountry demonstration.

The signatories to that first letter sent to the Police were Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Joshua Boye-Doe, Samuel Alesu-Dordzi, Efia Odo, Dela Russell Ocloo, Felicity Nelson, Bashiratu Kamal Muslim, Agyapong Forster, Adatsi Brownson, Benjamin Darko, Gabriel Ohene Kwasi Addai, Comedian Warris, Prince Kwaku Addo and Stan Dugah.

Other signatories have signed subsequent letters and worked and continue working hard to #fixthecountry.

Now, look over the names again. Are they all Ewes? Are they all Akans? Are they all Christian names? Are they all Islamic names?

The greatest mistake ever made by the NPP in 2021 is assuming that Ghana is so polarized, so divided, so politically binary that anybody who supports or identifies with #fixtheCountry must be an NDC member or sympathizer.

Not true.

When I launched my first book in November, 2020, I predicted that both the NDC and NPP will win less than 20% of total votes cast in 2024. Sounds crazy, I know. But it will happen in our lifetime. The Grand Awakening is almost here.

Oliver Barker-Vormawor was a staunch supporter and member of #OccupyGhana in 2014, so why will you tag him as a surrogate of the NDC?

If you are wondering what #OccupyGhana was, I can only tell you that it was a pressure group that was doing in 2014 exactly what #FixtheCountry is doing in 2021, and most of their members are now Government appointees and lawyers who worked on the Agyapa deal. No wonder they think #FixtheCountry is a vehicle created to bring JDM back. They are too short-sighted to see the truth.

That’s the difference between us and them. We were part of #OccupyGhana; they are not part of #FixtheCountry.

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By Stan Dugah
StantheStoryTeller // Shop@torsaa