Rawlings Using the Andanis for His Selfish Interest

Akua Bonsu

Whenever someone is killed justice must be sought. This is especially critical when the victim is the leader of an important segment of our nation. That is why an entire nation is in unison seeking justice for the killers of Dagbon Lordship. Yet as we pursue justice, it is important that we do so without prejudice, and certainly without an eye on any potential political advantage that is to be gained.

Unfortunately, former president Jerry John Rawlings’s role in stirring up emotions on this issue has been so despicable that it is hard not to connect the dots all the way to his next stated agenda of seeing his wife elected president. To expose Rawlings’ selfish motives, one needs not look farther than his own history. Rawlings was president when the Kokombas and the Nanumbas were involved in a conflict that did not kill one, but hundreds of innocent people from both sides. To date, he is not known to have lifted a finger to investigate those culpable for the cause of the conflict as well as the murderers therein. Unless the self-serving former president wants to convince the rest of us that the life of Ya Na is that much more important than the hundreds lost in the conflict when he was president, he must be just as passionate about seeking justice there as well.

Still on passion for justice, how curious is it that a person who has made an unusually public claim of possessing evidence including video evidence of Ya Na’s murder was no where to be found when the prosecution was in progress. Even if the Mills administration bungled the investigation, a Rawlings that wants so much to see justice served would be expected to volunteer the information vital to the facilitation of the prosecution. That he did not do so to help arrive at the justice that he claims to want so desperately indicates that either he has no such evidence and is touting the claim to stir up emotions, or he places personal ego above justice for Ya Na’s killers. Either way, it is no way for a statesman to behave.

All these point to a politico passé who wants a return to national prominence and is willing to use the emotions of a group of people to accomplish that selfish goal. And it is unfortunate that the Andanis have so far failed to see through this charade. How low is a man who takes advantage of the grieving for political advantage? Since when did the Ghanaian with the most amount of blood on his hands become the champion of justice? Are the lives of the Kokombas and the Nanumbas any less important? Are the lives of the three judges whose murder he is alleged to have masterminded any less important? Are the lives of former heads of state that he executed without due process any less important? Are the lives of countless number of political opponents any less important?

Even shamelessness has its limit, and so far, Rawlings has been that face of shamelessness. For a while some believed no one takes him seriously when he goes on his now infamous and senseless rants. But that the leadership of a grieving people would grant Rawlings such an august audience to stir up their emotions at such bad timing and to pursue his own selfish political agenda of augmenting the electoral chances of his unqualified wife is hard to explain and must be condemned.