Jerry Rawlings is an enigma and it is very clear to every keen observer of our Ghanaian political history that even the people of NDC who claim to be ardent followers of a party that was built on his principles, clearly do not understand his antics in the area of political-scheming.
I am making this conclusion about the followers of the NDC in the light of their conspicuous astonishment following Papa J’s complete u-turn to support his beloved wife to contest Atta-Mills for the NDC flagbearership contest for the 2012 general elections.
These followers of NDC, who are today up in arms against the flagbearership aspirations of Nana Konadu, and by extension Papa J’s tacit support, are the very same people who readily put their ‘intellectual’ acumen at the disposal of then hungry-looking 33-year old Air-force officer, when he took up arms and overthrew a constitutionally elected president of this country.
Today, Nunoo-Mensah who is nothing but a plain-faced opportunistic military dinosaur, unashamedly flaunts his totally discredited archaic military credentials as the only human-being who has served as Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) in two different regimes.
But what this man always fails to tell the good people who are desirous of keeping track of our nation’s checked political history is the fact that those two regimes were all totalitarian, which any sane person will be completely ashamed to be touting in an era of democratic governance. These are people who, for the sake of their stomachs, will be prepared to travel any distance to make their clearly disintegrated ‘kolo’ images relevant.
Now, when Rawlings overthrew Liman and the constant mantra of “probity, accountability and integrity” were being shouted from every roof-top across the length and breadth of our nation without a single act of corruption being preferred against any member of Liman’s administration, these very same opportunistic dinosaurs who are today raining insults on the Rawlingses for their desire to reclaim and restore the NDC back to its “core principles”, were the very same people who urged Rawlings on by providing him with moral, ‘intellectual’ and often times, fun-fool support.
When it was time for our nation to return to democratic governance, Rawlings should have been allowed to peacefully go into retirement, reflect on possible toes he must have stepped on, ask for God’s forgiveness and guidance, and probably write his memoires. However, these same intellectually dishonest people realized that he was their only trump-card to perpetuate themselves in power to enable them dip their long and dirty hands into government coffers and therefore decided to hold him ‘hostage’.
Many groups purporting to be routing for Rawlings to run for president were clandeinstanly formed across the country. Carefully choreographed pilgrimages were undertaken to the Castle by amorphous groups from all walks of life with expressed purpose of ‘pleading’ with Rawlings to heed their cries by accepting to run for president on the ticket of the NDC.
Those were the days even some of our traditional leaders could be seen, openly, wailing on durbar grounds where Rawlings happened to be present, just to exhibit their level of ‘sorrow’ at the possible ‘refusal’ of Rawlings to run for president.
Indeed, you can trust Rawlings for his level of political shrewdness accumulated over the period of being at the helms of affairs of our nation during his 11-years as a military ruler.
Now, this hide-and-seek game finally came to an end when Rawlings announced his decision to yield to “the numerous calls” on him to run for the presidency. That again, afforded these sycophantic and opportunistic dinosaurs the opportunity to continue ‘chopping’ for other 8-years of NDC rule under Rawlings’ presidency.
They married new wives, open fat off-shore bank accounts, sent their children to expensive schools overseas, showered concubines with exorbitant goodies and even went about snatching other people’s wives and girl-friends!!!. Those were the days Rawlings was considered as someone without sin and in whom they were well pleased.
When political power finally slipped through their hands in the year 2000, these once plain-faced paupers who had rode on the back of Rawlings to become business moguls and multi-billonaires, decided to go into self-imposed political hibernation with the sole intent to protect their ill-gotten wealth. Others pretended to be physically unfit to engage in rigors of political activism.
The whole survival of the NDC, as a viable political entity, was therefore left on the shoulders of the Rawlingses and their infinitesimal core of dye-hard faithfuls.When Rawlings was invited to the offices of BNI, it was this core group of supporters that trooped there on foot to give him moral support. When Nana Konadu attended court proceedings, it was members of her 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM) together with this core Rawlings faithful that were frequently accompanying her.
The only area where you would often hear the voices of these sycophantic ‘chop-chop’ cabal was when Rawlings rained unprintable insults on Kufuor, his appointees and other members of the NPP.These people turned themselves into special Rawlings lexicographers and were quick to rush out with the true interpretation of every insult that came out of his mouth against the Kufuor administration.
Tongue-twisting characters as Kwesi Pratt and Raymond Archer were the chief proponents of Rawlingsism and audaciously justified every single insult by Rawlings.
Those were the days Rawlings was having sumptuous meals with Kwesi Pratt and describing him as the most “sincere” person that ever walked the surface of the earth. I remember when Rawlings was ‘accused’ of commandeering many cars to his home at the time of leaving office; it was only Kwesi Pratt that was given access to the house to see things ‘fiilifiili’.
And trust Kwesi not to disappoint when there is an aroma of ‘nkwan deewa’ in the air. After visiting the house, Kwesi went and sat in the studios of Radio Gold and said “the cars NPP people are making unnecessary noise about are all broken-down vehicles with most of them suspended on cement-blocks”!!!
Now, this very same Rawlings whose acts of commission and omission were vehemently defended by these people, is the very same man who is today saying Atta-Mills is a visionless leader who has surrounded himself with “greedy bastarsds”.He says Atta-Mills has completely deviated from the principles upon which he founded his party (NDC) and therefore there is the need to wake-up and pull from the brink. And in his belief, the wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings will be a better option for the party in 2012.
But the truth is; we have in our nation today, a group of individuals who are ever-ready to welcome sycophancy with open-alms just for the sake of their stomachs. These people have quickly become highly allergic to their very own avowed principles at the slightest smell of ‘nkwan deewa’. Truth will quickly jump out of the window, the very moment these people walk-in through the door. And if they choose to enter through the window, the truth will appropriately make a swift dash for the door!!!
These are the kind of people questioning the ‘sense’ in Nana Konadu’s desire to wrestle the NDC flagbeareship.But; I know Nana Konadu is a woman of steel who has always been tactical with her steps. And with tacit backing of her husband and massive support base within the ranks of the neglected hungrily angry ‘veranda boys’ of the party, the outlook for their impending delegates congress could be anything, but, apocalyptic.

Indeed, most of these foot-soldiers supporting the Rawlingses have no voting rights in selecting the flagbearer. They have also not benefited from the NDC’s 2008 electoral victory. As such; they harbor deep-seated anger in their hearts, excruciating hunger in their bellies and iniquitous resentment against Atta-Mills.

And because these people are highly motivated by the desire to see their idols, the Rawlingses, taking back the NDC and are therefore ready to apply the principle of ‘all die be die’, who says there isn’t going to be a tsunami of apocalyptic proportion at the Sunyani congress?
The drama is certainly going to be extremely eye-popping and excessively mouth-watering. And we, as non-akatamansonian observers, will simply sit at the touch-lines and keenly watch. ‘Obeye mogya sem papaaaapa’!!!

Justice Abeeku Newton-Offei

E-mail: justnoff@yahoo.com