The National Security Minister, Kan Dapaah, and the Akufo-Addo government have come under fire from the convener of the pressure group #FixTheCountry movement, Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, for allegedly trying to buy him off with money and positions.
The group, which has previously denounced the government, has been holding a number of protests in order to pressure it to take appropriate action to lessen Ghanaians’ suffering.
Mr. Oliver Barker-Vormawor said, in a press statement revealed to journalists on September 22, that he and his colleagues turned down the government’s offer after meeting with the National Security Minister in a covert location.
The National Security Minister, according to him, threatened to have them arrested if they kept up their demonstrations, he added.
“Unknown to the government, we have recordings, while I was in the UK, the National Security Minister [Kan Dapaah], called and invited me for a sit-down. The government offered to pay for my flight, in order to meet here in Ghana.
“This was something that was never disclosed to the public, but we met at a safe house, for us to stop our activism, this was way before we started the first #FixTheCountry demonstration. We were offered not only money but appointments, and if we agreed to stop this, we were going to be free, but the most important thing was not to bring citizens onto the streets.
“When we rejected that, Kan Dapaah, the National Security Minister, said to my face that if we decide to continue on this course of action, we will be arrested. We will be dealt with and, it will be over his dead body any demonstrations will happen. At the time we were even in Supreme Court at the time”
Additionally, he said that for the past two years, the government has been trying to stop them from organising people to take to the streets.
“So I was not surprised that I was ultimately arrested by the government and continued being charged with treason. For over two years now, the government has tried to prevent us from mobilising people,” he claimed.
He implored members of the group who were scared for their lives not to show up.
“If there are any individuals out there who are concerned for their safety, I beg them not to come. Our democracy should not be purchased with the loss of human life. I disagree with that viewpoint and think that only individuals who have complete trust in themselves, are courageous, and feel compelled to act should do so. We will still be here if there are five of them, he said.
