What Rawlings Said In Kumasi

This is a verbatim report of the speech Ft Lt Jerry John Rawlings (rtd) gave when he spoke at the inauguration of the working committee of the Ashanti Regional NDC women’s wing in Kumasi.

“They (NPP) have been telling lies. They feed you with lies. But we told you the truth when we were in office”.

“Now after being fed with those lies, you have to listen to this”.

“I want you to listen to me just a little from me. While we were in office they used to tell lies about us. “These have been proved to be false.

When you are hungry, instead of they feeding you, they rather feed you with lies. They feed you with so much lies that you have to eat lies on your plate everyday. I say the time has come for you to vomit the lies you have been eating back unto the plates.

“They (NPP) say they are practising democracy, but I think this is one of the worst governments this country has ever had.

“It’s not nice, it’s not good that they should bring Ghana to such shame. Ghana is a very noble country; a very honest scountry, a very beautiful country. A very principled country. It must be led by such principles. Menuanom, me pa wo kyew (Brethren with all respects), this time you see it for yourselves, I don’t have to say it before you know it.

“When they wake up they say this man has done this - that woman has done that. They say Konadu has monies in a foreign bank. Konadu does not even know that bank they are talking about.

“Don’t you believe me?” Then the crowd shouted “we believe you”.

With this assurance a psyched Rawlings heaves his huge body frame and continues.

“We’ve seen governments from Nkrumah to Busia, the NPP Government is the worst government the country has had.

“I hope we could do something to stop the rot from going further down while waiting for the next election”.

Then he continued: “if you believe in them they would still give you some more lies.

“Very soon 2004 – the rate at which we are suffering, God help this country. I wish we could find ways and means of preventing the rot from going further down while we wait for the next elections.

“We don’t have to wait for the next election to prevent the rot. There’s something called unlawful order. We must use it, not just to accept wrong things. I’m afraid, Positive Defiance is what I used to call it. Menuanom, saa da no, NDC be pae firi fom biom”. (To wit “my brothers and sisters, that day NDC would erupt from the ground once again”). When he said this there was a cacophonous roar from the enthusiastic National Democratic Congress (NDC) crowd at Aboabo, Kumasi where the working committee of the regional women’s wing of the NDC was inaugurated by Rawlings last Friday.

He continued: “I hope when NDC comes to power that day (after it had erupted from the ground), they (NPP) would have the courage to stay here (in this country) as we (NDC) have done.

“Let no one of them run out of this country. This is because when they wake up, all they do is tell lies about us – we people of virtue and nobility. They are accusing people of nobility; people with dignity and principles as if being noble is a crime. They are creating a society that regard lies as truth. There is need to do something about it so that by the time 2004 comes there will be some dignity left in this country.

“All they are saying about us are “Nkontompo Asem” (complete falsehood). “Why” Daabi! (No) We’re matured enough and this sort of thing must stop. It must stop”.

“We must show due respect to the intelligence of the people of this country. When they wake up they supply falsehoods about us to the newspapers. Some of the newspapers use Rawlings persistently. They don’t understand that they are infuriating the silent majority. All the people who were identified with them (NPP) have been blown out of the District Assembly (referring to the recent District Assembly and Unit Committee elections). I hope they have learnt their lesson.

“Their people (NPP) are walking with their faces down. “They are ashamed because they cannot walk with dignity anymore. This is because they have disgraced their own supporters.

“Once again let us hope that the Wuako Commission will give this country some justice as far as the beheading of the Ya-Naa (the Dagbon King) is concerned.

“Without that … there will be no peace in this country. I want to tell Kufuor that whenever he travels outside the country, once in a while, he should come and visit us in Ghana”.