Am I the only one who is beginning to entertain the weird notion that former President Jerry John Rawlings has lost his marbles or is on the verge of doing so; otherwise how do you rationalize his recent behavior?
As the founder of the National Democratic Congress, a party which he led for almost two decades, it is incumbent on him to do all in his power to sustain the party and to promote its welfare.
But the former Flight Lieutenant who charmed his way into our hearts in 1979 with his fearlessness and bravery when he took on the entire hierarchy – the top brass — of the Ghana Armed Forces, is not doing what former leaders of major political parties around the globe do—- support and advise their parties away from the public glare.
He has unfortunately engaged in acts that I would describe as treacherous and despicable and which could ultimately tarnish his image, if they have not already done so.
One such act is sleeping with the enemy. Ok I did not mean to be so graphic. Allow if you would be so kind, to rephrase the sentence, and put it more mildly.
Mr. Rawlings has openly flirted with the NDC’s sworn enemy, the NPP. And that is not only unsettling and outrightly disrespectful, it is unfailingly offensive to the millions of Ghanaians who support the NDC.
To be blunt and not mince my words, Mr. Rawlings dalliance with the NPP and accompanying close relations with President Akuffo Addo are disgraceful and opportunistic.
Relationships of this kind are ugly and therefore frowned upon in political circles. They are unheard off. They aren’t commonplace no matter what the argument is.
A former leader of a major political party does not abandon his party and break bread with the party’s nemesis. What is more, no political leader worth his salt and with his head screwed on right and fully committed to the goals of his party, especially one that he founded, will ever contemplate siding with his party’s main rival for any reason at all no matter how compelling the reason is.
Could you have imagined the puzzling scenario of former President John Kufuor jaw-jaw with John Mahama and praising him effusively when the latter was president? And ignoring Mahama’s missteps?
Not in your imagination and not in a thousand years. Mr. Kufuor would have been torn to shreds by the likes of loudmouth Kennedy Agyepong for selling his soul to the devil.
So, seeing Mr. Rawlings at the NDC primaries last week, shooting off at the mouth left you wondering if the man has any more integrity left.
What galls me is the fact that Mr. Rawlings remains defiant and has stridently refused to change course despite the many complaints put forth against his association with the NPP.
And, to make matters worse, he has stubbornly refused to criticize the massive corruption that has engulfed the NPP.
Like Occupy Ghana, the Reverend Otabil, Reverend Amartey, Professor Stephen Adei, Ace Ankomah and others who were viscerally critical of former President John Mahama, Mr Rawlings has elected to stay mum — tight lipped on the entrenched stealing of state resources by his NPP buddies—
Let just say Mr. Rawlings sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil when it comes to Akuffo Addo and his cronies.
What a dramatic change. Mr. Rawlings 360 degrees turn is instructive. It just goes to tell you how fickle minded our politicians are, and how they can easily abandon their party, ideology and principles, to pursue their own parochial interests.
To tell you the truth when the annals of Ghana’s political history is written, Rawlings behavior circa 2019 will be aptly described as delusional and a betrayal of unspeakable proportions.
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