Jerry John Rawlings, former President of Ghana
One of the chief reasons why some African presidents refuse to handover their presidencies is the fear of prosecution. A typical example is the longest serving president in Africa, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. And perhaps his citizens, Zimbabweans, are ignorant and coward to confront him to handover or resign.
Whether you like it or not, ex-president Rawlings is the founder of the NDC and he remains as such; regardless of his numerously mischievous but unsurprising speeches against the party he founded.
It is those who have worked with him some years back especially former-and-incoming president of 2021, John Mahama and current executives of the NDC understand his constant uncompromising attacks on his own political party.
There is an Akan proverb which says: it is only an ungrateful child who would use his left hand to point to their father’s house. Why must Rawlings use his left hand to point to his own political party founded? Who is he trying to deceive in order to stay being loved by even his enemies, NPP?
As a matter of fact, his unnecessary and sour attack of his own born political party of corruption is neither here nor there. This an attack is a well-planned strategy by him to confuse the NPP in darkness from taking any legally constitutional actions against him for any wrong doing during his tenure for more than eighteen years as the president.
As he himself once said and I quote: ‘No one is perfect, not even Dr Kwame Nkrumah and I may be one of his critics in some ways.’ With this statement from himself, he knows vividly he did some unpardoned wrongs such as killing of innocent people, destroying of properties and beating of market women.
Accordingly, with a fearful nightmare mind that the NPP government might take a judicial process against him, he has prudently resorted to getting loud praises from the same NPP in order to put them to sleep. What a wise man?
The more he attacks his own born political party, the NDC, the more NPP forget about his past wrong doings which might need a constitutional response and court proceedings against him.
You don’t need former president Mahama neither the General Secretary of the NDC to tell you about this mischievously political strategy being employed by Rawlings in order to be safe.
The NDC fraternity is not much bothered by his utterances as he is still being liked by everyone and he is considered and remembered all time as the founder of the political party. Can you imagine ex-president Rawlings attacking NPP every now and then? He would have been facing many court cases for some of the things he did in the past as a political revenge by the current administration.
As a matter of fact, it is not only Rawlings using such a strategy to remain receiving praises from his enemy, the NPP, in order to forget about the past wrong doings but also his wife, Mrs Konadu Rawlings. Why must the wife, Mrs Konadu Rawlings, attack her own political party and eventually broke away to form so-called NDP?
Rawlings and his wife are using such an attack of corruption on the NDC to confuse and stop the NPP government from taking any prosecution against them. Mrs Konadu Rawlings was involved in some corruption practices of then 31ST Women Association some years ago, why every government is quiet about this?
Thanks to the strategy being employed by Rawlings. It is not even surprised that the ex-president has received a position in the current government as the sanitation ambassador.
The current executive of the NDC are not worried at all neither the members, whenever Rawlings attacks the NDC and praises the NPP. They know very well this is the only way Mr Rawlings and his family can stay without any enemies for what was done wrongly in the past as the head of state.
If Rawlings is a genuinely anti-corruption preacher instead of tricking some Ghanaians especially the NPP government to forget about his past, then he should channel his time and energy to the current corruption taking place in the broad daylight by vice president Bawumia. A newly elected political party which is less than one year in power has more sinners of corruption than any previous government you can think of. How can a free GPS on Google cost the nation millions of dollars while our farmers are struggling to buy common fertilizers?