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Opinions of Friday, 2 March 2018

Columnist: Hajj Seidu Sulemana

Former President Jerry John Rawlings is not a demigod in NDC

Jerry John Rawlings,Former President of Ghana Jerry John Rawlings,Former President of Ghana

Permit me to state unequivocally that President Rawlings is a lone ranger in the NDC and for that matter should not attempt to superimposed his whims and caprices on the NDC.

In fact, it should be rammed home to him that as far as decision making within the Party is concerned his opinions are just as important as any of the over 5million members of the NDC.

Understandably, I can excuse him for his excesses as a leader of the military junta but I can't countenance his futile machinations to hold the NDC to ransom under this democratic dispensation.

Against this backdrop, I am calling on the former president to stop his holier-than-thou effusions and come to terms with the inescapable fact that his anti-corruption credentials are suspect! Since he failed in nipping corruption in the bud during his epic rule as head of state, what moral authority has he to even grumble about it!

Moreover, a leader who has a strong aversion for corruption would not have settled for the 2million dollars doled out by Saani Abacha when it was crystal clear to the entire universe that Abacha was not only a corrupt ruler but a repressive one to boot! A morally upright person must abide by principles!

Permit me, ladies and gentlemen to draw inspiration from the profound wisdom of the Bible which enjoins us to remove the speck in our eyes before we can remove the log/plank from another's eye!

Where were the moral sermons of Rawlings when his extortionate wife was grabbing property left, right and centre as the leader of the 31st December Movement? Any wonder a court of competent jurisdiction has asked her to refrain from her grabbing spree!?

At this juncture, it is vitally significant for me to add that if President Rawlings had met half of the expectations he has for governments after him Ghana would have been a nirvana.

If he was incapable of curbing graft and bringing prosperity to Ghanaians in two decades, where does his condemnation of the eight-year tenure of subsequent governments spring from?

Ostensibly, President Rawlings appears to be haunted by an insatiable desire to be president for life, calling the shots and lording his fashion of good leadership on the NDC and by extension Ghana. His perpetual ranting and raving are occasioned by a penchant for power and his inability to accept that his time as president is over!

His Pharisaical anti-corruption crusade is therefore only a cover, pretence or guise that is aimed at throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians. My candid advice to him is that he would have been more relevant if he keeps quiet and resigns to the fact that he can never be president again!

In conclusion, a sheep cannot beget a goat so if no leader within the NDC has imbibed his "Christ-like" attributes it means in effect that he has been a terribly inept leader!