Wontumi should set himself on fire to start an uprising – Pratt

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., wants the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, to replicate the action of Mohamed Bouazizi, the young man whose self-immolation act led to the Tunisian uprising, if he (Wontumi) truly wants an “Arab Spring” revolt enacted in Ghana.

Twenty-six-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi who operated a vegetable cart for seven years in Tunisia was arrested by a policewoman in his cart and produce. Bouazizi, whose plea went unheeded, later tried to bribe the officer, but in response the policewoman was alleged to have insulted his deceased father and slapped him.

Humiliated, Bouazizi later went to the provincial headquarters in an attempt to complain to local municipality officials and to have his produce returned but was refused audience.

However, Bouazizi returned to the headquarters, doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself on fire. The public, mostly the youth in Tunisia quickly went ballistic over the incident, leading to protests. This immolation and the subsequent heavy-handed response by the police to peaceful marchers caused riots in Tunisia.

Bernard Antwi-Boasiako also known as ‘Chairman Wontumi’ is calling for to overthrow the incumbent government Tunisia style

Addressing a rally in Kumasi, he said, people in the Region are disgusted with the capitation policy of the National Health Insurance Scheme being piloted in the region by government.

He however warned that “If he (President Mahama) knows what is best for him, he will abandon this capitation policy, in a months’ time; I 'Chairman Wontumi' will call on one million to two million people in the Ashanti Region to join a big demonstration for about a month. What the Tunisians did, we are going to do same here in Ashanti Region; I 'Chairman Wontumi' will never rest until the NDC is overthrown”.

Discussing the issue on Adom FM the season journalist, Mr. Pratt, said, in as much as the country is facing some crisis, calling for a revolution to overthrow a government as sworn by the NPP’s Ashanti Region Chairman is “unfortunate”.

“He is talking about Tunisia; I don’t think he understands what happened in Tunisia. In Tunisia, even opposition leaders did not have the chance to speak on radio as they are doing here in Ghana. You can’t even speak. The situation in Tunisia is substantially different from the situation in Ghana today. We all know the hardship we are going through now in this country but we cannot compare the situation in Ghana today to what existed in Tunisia leading to the uprising. We cannot repeat what happened in Tunisia here,” he said.

He added that, “I think Chairman Wontumi might have forgotten what led to the ‘Arab Spring’ in Tunisia. Someone set himself ablaze for the Tunisia uprising to happen. If he (Wontumi) wants Tunisia to happen here…then he should set a good example. He should doused himself with a flammable liquid (Petrol) and set himself on fire and we will follow him to fight. What is wrong, do we want Ghana to be like Egypt, Libya and Tunisia?”