Rawlings Needs Help

Akua Bonsu

I rushed to the commode and puked immediately after reading the article. According to the article, Rawlings says he cannot resolve his differences with President Kufuor unless "justice has been served." (Although I have preceded his name with the title ‘president’ as all who have occupied that position are entitled to, beginning with this article, I am making a decision not to refer to him as president until he begins to act as such). This man either needs anger management training, or his world view is so warped that he simply does not get it. "Jerry John Rawlings says he will keep chasing after justice for injustices, corruption and crimes that occurred under the Kufuor-led administration," the article read. Wait! Let me visit the commode again before I continue. "And until that is achieved, Rawlings said he will find it difficult reconciling his indignation at the rule and person of Kufuor, so much as to render efforts at reconciling their differences unproductive."

Let sane minds consider these two individuals and two crucial topics: President Kufuor and Rawlings on justice and corruption.

On one side, there is one who came into power through the ballot box. Until, then, he had held several public positions while maintaining a lucrative law profession. He owned his home before he became president and in fact run the country for eight years living in his own home. Without any hard numbers from which to draw contrasts, we can safely project that the distance between pre-president Kufuor and post-president Kufuor from the standpoint of affluence is not very wide.

On the other side, there is another who shot his way into power. Although he would later put down his army fatigues and don a corporate-style suit so as to appear "presidential" enough to be duly elected into the presidency, that transition was a mere formality. Until his ascent to national leadership, he was known to decorate his living room with seats he had stolen from air force planes; he was known to eat "yoke gari" on credit; he had no formal profession from which to earn a decent living. Needless to say, he owned not even a one-bedroom apartment. Here again, without any hard numbers from which to draw contrasts, we can safely assume that the distance between pre-president Rawlings and post-president Rawlings from the standpoint of affluence was very wide.

President Kufuor still has the same home that he owned prior to becoming president. In contrast, Rawlings now owns a yatch, a fleet of horses, mansions in East Legon, Sogakokpe, and Aburi. He left the presidency with 17 vehicles of which only three were returned. In contrast, President Kufuor left the presidency with no car and no house because the public outcry that surrounded his intention to use one house for his office was so irrationally loud he had to abandon the structure.

To date, no known public corporation was sold under President Kufuor’s administration to any member of his family. In contrast, we know of at least two public corporations that were sold for peanuts to Mrs Rawlings. Yet in spite of this sharp contrast between two former presidents, ironically, the one who had benefitted from his leadership to a ridiculously large extend is the one accusing the other of corruption?

Let’s talk about justice. To date, the only high profile death that occurred during the eight-year reign of President Kufuor is that of Ya Na, which an independent Wuako Commission concluded occurred amidst a civil conflict. When it comes to personal freedoms, Ghanaians enjoyed unfettered freedoms of speech, of association, and of expression; no one got killed for speaking his or her mind. And when individuals erred and needed to be prosecuted, his attorneys general did so without discrimination.

This record again is in sharp contrast with the Rawlings era when judges were kidnapped and burnt to death; those who dared to express opposing opinions were picked up at night never to be seen again; past heads of state were line up and shot to death without a fair trial because Rawlings had suspended the constitution; a young man who dumped Rawlings’ daughter was arrested and given what had become known as the "Castle Shave;" and the list goes on and on.

How then dare he to look for justice for wrongs that occurred under the Kufuor administration? Has this man ever looked into the mirror? Why is it that an overwhelming proportion of foreigners now living in Ghana have a more complementary opinion of President Kufuor than they have of Rawlings? How come after their respective reigns, invitations to high level projects and assignments are flocking in to President Kufuor from reputable organization while Rawlings’ people have to always work hard just to get some no-name universities to invite him to speak?

President Kufuor is a man of peace and dignity. Even the blind can see that. Rawlings, on the other hand, has been nothing but a long and arduous blemish on our nation. If Ghanaians are not up in arms to silence this loose canon, it does not mean they are scared. Rawlings should bask in the peace and dignity that Ghanaians represent, and not rub our collective noses in his bull. WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS NIGHTMARE!