A glorified tribute to Nkrumah: Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a casting shadow for the future of Ghana’s politics.

The events of 21st September, is a memorial honour of the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. This date in 2023 marks the 114th birthday of the former president and most celebrated political icons of Africa and it historical trajectory.

Nkrumah, was a controversial political figure, yet had a consequential historical bearing on the African continent, he, like other freedom fighters, stood the grounds of independence ideals, speaking up for their respective countries and the ideals of political freedom from the colonial masters of their days.

Osagyefo, became an illustrious African behemoth, one that traversed the politics of his country, and ventured into the territories of Africa’s liberation struggle. And till date, he’s celebrated in that regards, across the continent and beyond.

21st September of every year is celebrated in remembrance of Kwame Nkrumah’s memory in Ghana, however, the controversy around this public holiday has generated a lot of contention between the Pro-Nkrumist and the scions of his historical adversaries, who now occupy government in Ghana.

The events of this year’s celebration has seen a complete different turn of events, as a group, led by an anti-corruption and a constitutional reformist, Oliver Barker-Vormawor drove through the heart of the capital, in Accra with a three (3) days street protests, disenchanting the ills of the government and mobilizing the forces of local and global celebrities of Ghanaian origin, matching on the streets of Accra amidst heavy downpours and police arrest and reported brutalities.

The concerns of the protesters, largely was to meet and petition the President of Ghana at the flagship-house, the seat of Ghana’s presidency, on the rising cause of living, increased inflation, attack on journalists and abuse of political power and judicial selective application of justice in handling politically inclined cases, believed to be engineered by the government.

The convener for the now controversial non-political organization, Oliver Vomewor, is a key actor and the mobilizer for the the ongoing demonstration. In his speech in the last three days, he has called for constitutional reforms, the lost of trust in the political class of the country and demanded on the government to act in the best interest of the country’s future.

Other celebrities, including movie actor John Dumelo, the hip-life/hip-hop rapper Manifest, the soul singer Efia-Nocturnal, Stoneboy, and a host of other social media influencers, Efia Odo, KalyJay, and journalist of local media houses, Bridge Otoo among others, brave their disappointment with the government by showing up at the match to register their concerns.

On the social media space, mostly on Twitter now called (X), the protesters took over the trends and had over 700k tweets as of my our last check before this publication.

For political watchers, the events of the #fixthecountry movement, and the series of protests maybe an awakening call for a new political movement among the youth of the country. Where the demands and the consistent failure of government after another, may trigger a third political force being engineered by these forces of anti-government protesters due to the lost of confidence in the political leadership of the country.

Kwame Nkrumah, maybe dead, but his spirit continues to ignite a generation of his country’s youth into demanding for change and a prosperous Africa, and if care is not taken, these new ignition, may lead to an emerging political party in Ghana in the near future.