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Atik Mohammed has condemned political actors and a section of the general public for ridiculing President Nana Akufo-Addo's counsel that Ghanaians should eat a lot of cocoyam leaves 'Kontomire' and ''dawadawa'' also known as the African locust bean.

The President, in his ninth nation address on COVID-19, advised Ghanaians to consume nutritious foods to boost their immune system against the Coronavirus disease.

"We have to improve our hygiene, our fitness and exercises, our eating, generally, our style of living, which will boost our immunity to disease and the virus. For instance, we are told that the key vitamins that fortify our immune system are vitamins A, B6, C, and E. Fortunately for us, in Ghana, all of these can be found in many of our foods, such as oranges, kontomire, millet, cashew nuts, crabs, plantain, okro, dawadawa, brown rice and mushrooms. Following a good diet, patronising our healthy foods, exercising regularly, ensuring our personal hygiene, and improving our lifestyle habits should become part and parcel of our daily routines, which will help bolster our immune systems, and help us in the fight against the pandemic," President Akufo-Addo said.

Although the President meant to sensitize the citizenry about the need for personal hygiene, his speech about consuming dawadawa has come under public ridicule.

Atik Mohammed is utterly shocked that people would mock the President.

Contributing to 'Kokrokoo' on Peace FM, Atik Mohammed sought to educate Ghanaians on the benefits of eating dawadawa, stressing the human body receives lots of nutrients from it.

According to him, dawadawa is one of the most significant immune boosters in the world and is consumed by every West African country with Nigeria being the highest consumer.

He urged Ghanaians to heed the President's advice to eat the listed foods, particularly dawadawa.

"I am a die-hard fan of dawadawa . . . It's a fantastic immune booster . . . You have no idea what dawadawa can do . . . There is no country in the whole of West Africa that doesn't consume dawadawa and the biggest consumers are Nigerians. When you go to Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo; everybody consumes dawadawa. I can say Ghana is the least consumers of dawadawa because the southern part of Ghana hasn't yet known the benefits of dawadawa.

''When people attempted to ridicule the President, I was like 'is it they don't know what dawadawa is or the name dawadawa sounds funny to them','' he said.

Dawadawa, botanical name is Parkia biglobosa, is locally used to prepare soup and stew, and has so much benefits for a healthy living.

Among the benefits are for treating hypertension, stroke, diarrhea, reducing cholesterol and also helps to control blood sugar level.