Kumasi Shows Mahama Red…Over Dumsor

RESIDENTS OF Kumasi in the Ashanti Region yesterday sent a clear signal that Ghanaians are fed up with the bad governance of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, as they poured onto the streets in large numbers to demonstrate.

Christened 'Yabre demonstration', the historic event which was the brainchild of Movement for Change (MFC), a pressure group belonging to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), saw virtually all residents of the boisterous city including the elderly and the young, turning up for the protest march.

Led by NPP stalwarts including Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the party's running mate for the 2016 elections, the demonstrators took total control of the Ashanti regional capital for more than the six hours that the peaceful march lasted.

Red & Black
Interestingly, all the demonstrators were seen wearing black and red as they sang war songs throughout their march which started at the State Boys Park near Suame through Abrepo Junction, Bantama, KATH, Pampaso, Adum, Labour Roundabout, Alabar to Abbey's Park.

Even persons who could not take part in the demonstration due to the nature of their jobs were seen wearing either red or black arm bands to signify their support for the demonstrators' assertion that Ghana was in dire straits under the NDC administration.

Complaints
The demonstrators, intermittently and in unison, yelled that they have had enough of the corrupt practices and bad governance so far displayed by the NDC administration led by President John Mahama.

They were also peeved about the countless failed promises given by the NDC government to the citizenry with regard to solving the power crisis, which is crippling businesses, resulting in the layoff of workers and causing nightmares for the people.

Comparison
Political observers said with confidence that the number of people who took part in the 'Yabre' demonstration in Kumasi were far in excess of the crowd that took part in the 'Won Gbo' demonstration in Accra, the national capital, a few days ago.

Some top police officers who provided security for the demonstrators also told the paper on condition of anonymity that the crowd the 'Yabre' demonstration pulled on Wednesday had not been experienced before in the history of Kumasi.

Nana Ama Ampomah, the Ashanti Regional Women's Organiser of the NPP, even said at 8:30am that about 500,000 people had already converged on the State Boys School Park, starting point for the march, and the numbers were still increasing every minute.

The people in the city were divided with regard to what might have resulted in the high patronage of the event. Some said the hardship in the country, caused by the non-performing NDC administration, was too much for the people to bear.

Others also argued that the Organised Youth of Ashanti (OYA), a pressure group which is an appendage of the ruling NDC's weird decision to disrupt the staging of the 'Yabre' demonstration, perhaps made the people angry, so they decided to hit the streets in large numbers.

Placards
Most of the demonstrators held placards with funny inscriptions such as 'Drop Mahama,' 'John Bull,' 'Fake John,' 'Mahama Stop Travelling and Fix the Economy', and 'Who is this John?' among other unprintable words against the President and some of his ministers.

Traffic
The crowd that took part in the demonstration was so huge that there was massive vehicular traffic virtually in all parts of the city where the thousands of demonstrators passed amid singing and dancing.

Business Dead
The demonstration affected businesses, with empty markets being recorded as the traders left their stores and shops just to be part of history. Temporary food shortage was also witnessed in the city as operators of food joints refused to work on the day.

People travelling from Kumasi were not spared the agony, with drivers parking their vehicles just to join the other residents of the city to demonstrate against President Mahama's bad governance. Indeed all business activities went dead on the day.

Damaged Items
Some of the demonstrators were seen carrying their damaged electrical appliances due to the erratic power supply in the country on their heads including television sets, tapes, fridges, fans, rice cookers, irons, and DVD players, just to mention a few.

They complained that President Mahama was not contributing anything to develop the country, but rather his bad policies and programmes and lack of vision had resulted in the power crisis which was damaging their electrical appliances.

Security
The Ashanti Regional Police Command, led by DCOP Kofi Boakye, also did a yeoman's job by dispatching about 500 policemen who worked above themselves to make the event incident-free.

The police blocked all access routes to the Abbey's Park, the point of convergence, and this security strategy ensured that the demonstrators walked freely to the venue to listen to their leaders to climax the event.

Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako aka 'Wontumi', even in his speech, expressed his appreciation about how the police worked to ensure that the event was peaceful.

He particularly commended DCOP Kofi Boakye for his high sense of professionalism, commitment to duty and no-nonsense nature, saying that DCOP Kofi Boakye was the reason the Ashanti Region had become peaceful lately.

Bawumia
Dr Bawumia, supported by Alan Kyerematen and Addai Nimoh, who both contested the NPP flagbearer position but lost, stated that 'Insha Allah Change is coming to Ghana in 2016,' noting that the huge patronage of the 'Yabre' demonstration was an indication that Ghanaians were hankering for the NPP.

Dr Nsiah Asare, leader of MFC, organisers of the demonstration, announced that his group would replicate similar demonstrations in all the district capitals in the Ashanti Region soon, stressing that the group would sustain the heat on President Mahama until he did the right thing.

NPP bigwigs such as Freddie Blay, Kwabena Agyepong, John Boadu, Otiko Afisa Djaba, Kwabena Kokofu, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, Isaac Osei and Sammy Awuku were present.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr & Ernest Kofi Adu, K'si