Drama Of Transition In Ghana

Facts have emerged on how President Olusegun Obasanjo saved Ghana from sliding into chaos following the victory of opposition candidate Mr. John Kufuor in last December's presidential election.

Kufuor of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) trounced incumbent vice president, John Attah Mills of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to emerge president-elect of Ghana thus ending 19 years reign of ex-President John Jerry Rawlings.

But Rawlings, a former Air Force Flight Lieutenant who first shot himself into power in 1979 via a military coup was believed not to be too comfortable with Kufuor's victory and though did nothing openly to stop it was willing to do anything to stall the transition.

His farewell address to members of the armed forces shortly before the hand-over date when troops in a seemingly open defiance of the new order matched in support of the Rawlings era shouting slogans praising his regime.

Though he called to show loyalty and professionalism under Kufour's rule wishing the incoming administration well, he expressed opposition to multi-party politics saying it created "unnecessary division within society."

He condemned those criticising the loyalty of the military to him saying the soldiers were only loyal to the state.

This caused alarm in the opposition camp from where contacts were quickly made to Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo to use his moral influence and authority to prevail on Rawlings to let the opposition victory be.

The Kufuor's camp sources at the Presidency in Abuja told THISDAY implored Obasanjo to plead with Rawlings, assuring him that the new administration would not probe his 19 years in power characterised by human rights abuses.

The Nigerian leader was also invited to grace Kufuor's inauguration as special guest of honour as part of the trouble-shooting mission.

Obasanjo at the event which took place in Accra apart from his behind-the-scene moves to douse tension, delivered a speech appealing for maturity on the part of the new administration and indeed all parties to manage the success of the smooth transition well in order not to send wrong signals to the international community.

President Kufuor whose inauguration was also witnessed by other West African leaders also in his speech promised not to probe the Rawlings era.

While calling on his countrymen to forgive errors of Rawlings' 19 years rule but not to forget, said his government will be faced with many economic and social problems that he would have neither energy nor time to spare to chase his successor.

"As you can see, we have enough economic problems. Our people are impoverished, they have no jobs and their standard of living has gone down drastically. We need to give them jobs. We need to improve their standard of living, not by what we say but by what they can see," he said.

Kufuor, 62, won a run-off vote in late December against Rawlings' vice-president, John Atta Mills, taking 57 per cent of votes cast to take the presidency he failed to win from Rawlings in an election four years earlier.

In a parliamentary poll, Kufuor's New Patriotic Party (NPP) won 100 seats in the 200-seat parliament which was installed at a separate ceremony earlier on Sunday. Rawlings' and Mills' National Democratic Congress (NDC) took 92 seats, compared to the 133 it held in the outgoing assembly while the remaining seats are held by independents or minor parties.

Rawlings, who was himself ineligible to run for a third elected term under the constitution, first seized power in a coup in 1979.

After that coup he handed power over to civilians, then staged a second coup in 1981 and became head of state. He won democratic elections in 1992 and 1996.

Officials said Rawlings had been offered a role as a roving ambassador for 2001 by his compatriot, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Rawlings has said he will take a break and then join "a battle against the mosquito" to fight malaria in Africa.