'Populist nonsense must give way to scientific sense' - Kweku Baako to Rawlings

When it comes to former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, one person among the lot who hardly come into consensus with him is Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide.

It is very uncommon, almost near impossible, for Mr Baako to agree with Mr. Rawlings but Wednesday, June 3, 2020 will go down in the history books as the day the seasoned journalist finally came on the same page with the former president.

Kweku Baako disclosed the one thing he agrees with Mr. Rawlings which dates back to 1983 when he had been imprisoned under the erstwhile Rawlings' military rule.

He noted that during the same time, the ''monsters'' that he (Rawlings) had created turned on him and in fighting them off made a popular quote which resonated with Kweku Baako in prison.

The monsters, as described by Kweku Baako, referred to the loyalists of Mr. Rawlings who later betrayed him.

''On August 28, 1983, Chairman Rawlings delivered an address on national radio and television to the people of Ghana. The speech was essentially a close-up analysis and critique of the populist and economically unproductive elements in the 31st December Revolution as it had evolved to date. [Quote] We can no longer postpone the time for halting the populist nonsense and for consolidating the gains of the past twenty months and making a noticeable leap forward. Production and efficiency must be our watch words. Populist nonsense must give way to popular or unpopular sense to scientific sense whether it is popular or not," Mr. Rawlings is quoted and published in West African Magazine in 1983.

Kweku Baako drew inspiration from the Rawlings' words to make his submissions on Peace FM's flagship programme 'Kokrokoo' on Wednesday saying, "one thing that Rawlings said that I agree is that populist nonsense must give way to popular sense. That's the only thing I agree with him. He might have meant something nasty but I just love that quote and I've never forgotten about it. I was in prison when he made that statement . . . and it stayed with me since then. This was made in 1992, somewhere August/September and I was listening to it on the rediffusion box (radio)''.