More recently, Ex-President Rawlings was reported to have poured his heart out on “evil” former President Kufuor and “rogue” former President Mahama for allegedly destabilising Ghana’s macroeconomic indicators through wanton corruption and mismanagement (See: Kufuor is evil, Mahama a rogue-Rawlings Jabs;abusuafmonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 25/05/2018).

Rawlings implacably berated Kufuor and Mahama: “I know with my integrity when I die, I will go to heaven but when I see these corrupt leaders, I will ask permission from God and flog them. “If they don’t leave heaven for me, I will go and leave the heavens and join Satan in hell because I cannot stay in the same place with them (Abusuafmonline.com).”

Ex-President Kufuor, a real human being as he is, may have irreversible infelicities, but it is wholly unacceptable for Rawlings to describe him as an evil geezer.

Likewise, former President Mahama may have wilfully presided over the most corrupt administration in the history of Ghanaian politics, it is boundlessly impolitic for Rawlings to call him a rogue.

Well, anyone who has a passing familiarity with the evil events which took place during the 1979 and 1981 inconsequential and ferocious coup d’états would be extremely flabbergasted to hear that former President Rawlings is authoritatively passing judgement on former President Kufuor and former President Mahama.

On that portentous day (31st December 1981), J.J Rawlings ignobly took arms and succeeded in supplanting the constitutionally elected government and capriciously imposing his despotic rule.

Bizarrely, one of his accomplices of 31st December 1981 coup d’état alleged that, “Rawlings rather bamboozled onto the political scene with the sole objective of transforming his life.”

The said accomplice opined that, just before mounting the 31st December 1981 coup d’état, RAWLINGS brought out a bulletproof vest to wear. And when one of the soldiers asked why he alone was protected, he argued that “he has only one in his possession and it cannot be shared amongst them”. And more so “he was the leader and if he died, so many things would go wrong”. And, to cheer them up he said, “Gentlemen, from now on you guys are going to prosper” (NRC 2003).

Ever since I became aware of the preceding disgusting statement, I have adjusted my views on Rawlings. For I have been mulling over his real intentions for usurping power.

Consequently, I have been harbouring an opinion that the despotic revolutionary, J.J Rawlings, may be a Machiavellian after all.

Interestingly, some prominent scholars assert that Machiavellians tend to take a more detached, calculating approach in their interaction with other people.

Besides, Machiavellians tend to believe most people are concerned only with their own well-being and to depend too much on anyone else is foolish.

Moreover, Machiavellians believe that the best way to get by is to use deception, rewards, promises, Flattery and even punishments to manipulate others into doing their bidding. To them, power may be more important than love.

Scholars of Anthropology, however, postulate that in terms of big five personality traits, Machiavellians tend to be low on agreeableness and conscientiousness.

For example, some scholars and researchers have attempted to find a correlation between Machiavellianism and narcissistic personality disorder and Psychopathy. Consequently, Robert Altemeyer found a correlation between Social dominance orientation and Machiavellianism.

I hate to admit this, but, I cannot continue to hush up the admiration I used to have for J.J Rawlings during my school days at Prempeh College in the early 80’s.

Of course, like many other students back then, I incredulously thought J.J Rawlings was a Messiah sent from the Heavens to intercede for the downtrodden, and how wrong I was. Indeed, I am among those admirers who have come to their senses.

Ironically, when Rawlings bamboozled onto the scene, he vowed to get rid of corruption and challenged Ghanaians to “shoot” him if he failed. Nevertheless, Rawlings did not even get rid of the rampant corruption within his erratic government let alone the entire nation.

Paradoxically, however, Rawlings goes about preaching probity and accountability, but fails to practice.

Dearest reader, isn’t it somehow ironic that someone who bamboozled onto the scene under the pretext of eliminating the widespread sleazes and corruption would turn to a fantastically corrupt former Nigerian president Abacha for a hard cash gift of over $2 million?

To acquaint yourself further with Nigeria’s former president Abacha’s alleged gift to J.J Rawlings, please see: (Nigeria’s Abacha gave me $2 million and not $5 million-Rawlings: citifmonline.com/.../nigerias-abacha-gave-me-2m-not-5m-rawlings-conf... ; ‘Abacha’s $2 million gift to Rawlings: Vitus Azeem is only after the truth’,: www.ghanaweb.com/.../Abacha-s-2m-gift-to-Rawlings-Vitus-Azeem-is-o... ; ‘Rawlings must return Abacha’s $2m gift-Nigerian journalist’: www.ghanaweb.com/.../Rawlings-must-return-Abacha-s-2m-gift-Nigeria...).

It must also be pointed out that Rawlings supplanted power under the pretext of acting as a peripheral Panacea. However, Rawlings cunningly spent a little over nineteen years and in the process bettered his life and that of his family.

Regretfully, the ever righteous Rawlings went into conniption-fit and tempestuously murdered people with more than two cars, and how many cars does he own now?

Hypocritically, however, Rawlings destroyed our educational system and then sent his children abroad to study in what he saw as a superior educational system. How pathetic?

Believe it or not, Rawlings was at war with rich men and women in the country, but nowadays, he is undoubtedly one of the wealthiest men in the country. How fair is that?

Strangely, Rawlings and his henchmen arbitrarily seized billions of fifty cedi notes from the good people of Ghana without any tangible reasons, and, never returned the billions of cedis collected. What was more evil than that?

The vast majority of tangible national assets, including the state owned enterprises were allegedly sold to friends and families for pittance. His own wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings was reported to have bought the Nsawam cannery.

Given the circumstances, one can hardly comprehend how and why J.J Rawlings would continue to accuse his political opponents of corruption, notwithstanding the fact that, when Rawlings usurped power, he was as poor as a church mouse. Safe to say, he has since transformed his life and that of his family exponentially.

Regrettably, Rawlings and his bunch of vampires callously murdered innocent people on infinitesimal and to some large extent pathetic reasons.

Shockingly, according to the National Reconciliation Council’s official report, over 200 innocent people were tortured and murdered by activists linked to the National Democratic Congress (NDC). What is more evil than that, Mr Rawlings?

And, what leaves discerning Ghanaians with extreme puzzlement is, with all his misdeeds and ultra-vires, he has the temerity to aim accusing fingers at his political opponents.

It is also worth pointing out that with all the atrocities meted out to some innocent Ghanaians during his autocratic rule, he managed to cover his misdeeds with the repugnant indemnity clause. How bizarre?

K. Badu, UK.

k.badu2011@gmail.com