Ghana stagnated, retrogressed under JJ – Akosa

Former Presidential Aspirant Prof Agyeman Badu Akosa has said Ghana “stagnated” and “retrogressed” under Jerry John Rawlings’ near-two decade leadership.

Prof Akosa told his audience at the second of a three-day J.B. Danquah commemorative lecture in Accra that Mr Rawlings could have used his eleven-year military rule and eight-year civilian leadership as President in the fourth Republic, to make a huge difference.

Flt. Lt. Rawlings became Head of State under the Provisional National Defence Council (P.N.D.C) regime from 1981 to 1992.

He later contested for the presidency as a civilian and won the 1992 and 1996 elections under the fourth Republic.

According to Prof Akosa, “the only comparable Heads of State who presided over their countries for that same duration and within that same period of time were Dr Mahathir Mohammed of Malaysia and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore”.

“These persons were to move their countries from third world to first world”, he said, adding that: “Ghana on the other hand, stagnated and in so many ways, retrogressed”.

“Was it a question of leadership? I leave that to the audience”.