EDITORIAL: Rawlings and the media

FORMER PRESIDENT JERRY John Rawlings recently accused the Ghanaian media of politically vilifying his family and the National Democratic Congress {NDC} party that he founded.

In an interview with the West Africa magazine at his Ridge House in Accra, Mr. Rawlings said: “Chief, I would have loved to stay out of the headlines, but they won’t let me. I am always provoked with all sorts of concocted stories by the current administration, which makes me look like a demon in Ghana. Can I ever rest over these things? Why is these all of this nonsense and rubbish about my wife and me?”

In support, he cited media reports which alleged that he had gone to Congo Brazzaville to solicit for arms to stage a coup, when all that he did was to urge the francophone countries to show more interest in the return of peace to a divided Cote d’Ivoire.

Mr Rawlings also believe that most of the evidence given before the National Reconciliation Commission{NRC},as at June, this year, were lies peddled to destroy him.

Concocted stories planted by government? We at the Gye Nyame Concord cannot confirm or deny whether indeed the government has been concocting stories about Mr Rawlings and his family.

We do know, however, that Mr Rawlings makes news. It cannot be otherwise, given his antecedents as a twice successful coupmaker and the Ghanaian leader to have reigned for 19 continuous years. There are many whose toes were severely bruised by both the Rawlings dictatorship and democratic rule, and therefore yearns round the clock to hear stories that will embarrass him. So there is a ready market for such stories, and if is true that the government is indeed concocting stories about him, it may be that niche that they are feeding into.

But, if the truth must be told, Mr Rawlings personally has been putting himself in the banner headlines of newspapers due to his own acts of omission and commission, both in the past and the present.

It is the past that is “recurring” at the NRC which he has characterised as “lies” being peddled to destroy him. He should know, since he was an active participant in those turbulent days.

The Gye Nyame Concord can authoritatively however, speak about the present - the post NDC days, especially June 4, 2001 when he emitted “Boom 2”; June 4, 2003, when he did Boom 3 in the form of the allegation that heavyweights in the NPP administration were involved in the killings of the 34 women between 1997 and 2000; there is also his outpouring at the NDC’s Kafo Didi demonstration in Kumasi when he alleged that the government was trying to ring the 2004 Elections through giving the vote to Ghanaians resident abroad.

We wonder whether this is the posture of someone - not just any ordinary person but a former head of state - who wants stay out of the headlines. We think not.

However, we like to call on those busily concocting stories about ex-President Rawlings, if indeed there is any such person, to desist. For all holy scriptures condemn the speaking of calumny, with the hottest part of hell reserved for its speakers.

We will at the same time appeal to Dr. Rawlings to desist from some of his controversial statements which are often unsubstantiated. If he thinks they must be said all the same, then he must delegate them to his boys. Definitely what they say cannot have the same impact as a Dr. Dr. Dr. saying them.