Editorial: Rawlings, Ghana’s Most Irrelevant

Last week’s June 4th anniversary day, provided another platform for ex-President Jerry John Rawlings to grab the microphone, cease the attention of political watchers and activists, and launch for the umpteenth time, senseless, illogical, unreasonable, selfish and unreasonable attacks on President John Evans Atta Mills and his style of administration.

As expected the spurious vituperations of Rawlings dominated the headlines and thus rekindling public discussions. The issue of delivering on the bread and butter issues confronting the nation has been submerged, consequently. Rawlings is the news, today, and will be at least until this week ends.

Vast majority of Ghanaians have concluded on Mr. Rawlings as a non-conformist, and that no matter the amount of back-stage meetings that will be organised to put to rest his fears, the man will jump at any opportunity to launch his vitriolic attacks. Being a member of the party’s supreme council of patrons and attending regular national executive meetings cannot stop Rawlings from continuing his groundless crusade.

So like it had happened in the last few months, an overwhelming number of Ghanaians have condemned Flt Lt (rtd) Jerry John Rawlings, for consistently misconducting himself.

Thus after carefully understudying the consistent outbursts of Chairman Rawlings, The Informer has come to the conclusion that the former President is not only on a collision course with the sitting President, he is actually on a lone race to becoming Ghana’s most irrelevant Statesman, of all time.

Respect for the longest serving Ghanaian leader is fast waning. Almost every adult Ghanaian with a clean conscience and a matured mind has ruled as distasteful, the comments Rawlings made about His Excellency President Mills. The Informer shares the opinion of the majority, and do hereby states that, by the time President J.E.A. Mills finishes with his second term and likely hand over to H.E. John Dramani Mahama, the former Ghanaian junta leader would have had his image and credibility sunk so low, in the eyes of the ordinary Ghanaian, such that it will take a magic to restore him as the faultless man and the only holier-than-thou who once governed this country; a false impression he now wants to create for himself.

For Mr. Rawlings to allow himself to be convinced by the wife, so much to the extent that he will attempt to launch her Presidential campaign for election 2012, speaks volumes of the fundamental reason behind his constant unnecessary outburst. Rawlings rooting for his wife to snatch the Presidency from President Mills, in 2012, is a joke which also provides us with a reason to begin examining the intentions of Rawlings, his selfish interests, and where it lies in the scheme of things.

To many of our youth who were in pampers and napkins during the days of 1979 and 1981, they now know that what took place in governance, at the time, was not entirely about the Ghanaian, it was first of all about the Rawlingses and their interests. Now we know.

So can ever-powerful Agyeman Konadu Rawlings look Ghanaians in the eyes and tell us what she so much wanted to do in the 19 years of the husband’s reign, but which she could not do. We know how Agyeman Konadu handled herself and how powerful she was. So after the supreme lobbyist she became, capable of dismissing National Security Coordinators, grabbing state assets at ridiculous prices and all, she needs four years to fulfil her heart desires for Ghana. Heavens!

Please Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings, please credit us with some amount of intelligence, and spare us this shameful exercise. Ghanaians are not stupid. You must know this by now. So what is the point in tormenting our ears?

Are Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings telling us that they know better and are more intelligent than Professor Mills? If a near school drop-out like Rawlings, could muster the necessary intelligence to govern Ghana, for 19 years, 11 years of which he had nobody questioning his decision making processes, how dare he compare himself and his wife to the learned Professor of Law, who is a messiah to the credibility of the NDC, than a curse?

It is an incontestable fact that the credibility of President Mill, soars above that of Rawlings and the wife, and but for that strong quality in the person of the learned Professor, the NDC would have continued to wonder in the political wilderness.

Let no one deceive himself or herself that bulldozing through Congress and succeeding in getting delegates to vote against Mills, is what will bring the NDC, some peace. The moment that decision is made, will be the very moment the party lost the 2012 elections and pressed the Armageddon button. The fact is, the NDC has managed overtime, to attract many outsiders into their fold, by selling its strong sides, like having a person like Professor Mills as its flag-bearer and leader. The party therefore stands the heavy risk of losing hundreds of thousands of voters, should NDC delegates heed to the babyish cries of the Rawlingses.

Rawlings, has given us reason to believe he is a coward, fearing that his domineering stature in and outside the NDC, is sharply being whittled away, and as such is fighting tooth and nail to regain grounds.

President Mills is delivering on the bread and butter issues confronting the ordinary Ghanaian. He has appointed an Attorney General and Minister of Justice, in the person of Mrs. Betty Mould Idrissu, a darling of the Rawlingses, who is supposed to prosecute all criminal cases, including corrupt officers in the former regime.

So if Mr. and Mrs Rawlings want a quick-pace prosecution of all ex-government officials, is it not proper and fair to invite your Betty Mould Idrissu and challenge her to work harder? Should it be the responsibility of President Mills to prepare dockets for prosecution?

It is now clear that Chairman Rawlings, is not only hating the Mills way of doing things, he has misplaced priorities as well and is actually on course to become Ghana’s most irrelevant statesman, whose views and tantrums will no more be respected.

Jehovah Almighty is watching and will rule on this matter, soon.