In what could best be described as a freaky mission, ex-President Jerry John Rawlings stunned onlookers, mostly workers, when he broke into the restricted portion of the Kotoka International Airport and began taking close-up shots of some aircrafts.
Driving to the restricted portion of the airport would ordinarily not prompt queries from the average worker of the facility but when the person involved is an ex-President who goes further to take shots all by himself, eyebrows would be raised as was done last Friday afternoon.
The last time ex-President Rawlings clutched a camera was at an NDC function at the Trade Fair site before the December polls. There too, he held a camera as Mills mounted the rostrum to deliver a political talk to party faithful.
Long after he had accomplished his mission of capturing the images of the aircrafts - a dusty and unserviceable Ghana Airways DC 10 and an Antrak Airways flying machine - tongues were still wagging as to the rationale behind the photo-taking assignment by the onetime ace pilot.
While some of the workers were just being curious, others, perhaps the more political, found the conduct of the ex-President unacceptable since this portion of the facility was a restricted area which he very well knew.
The area under review is close to the Crash Relief Fire Service of the airport and the Aviation Clinic, a place with a large concentration of workers who could not have missed the countenance of their ex-President and his queer activity.
Ex-President Rawlings, a former jetfighter pilot in the Ghana Air Force, won an award for his excellent performance while a cadet pilot at the Flying Training School of the military formation in Takoradi in his youthful years.
When he later earned his wings, a reference to qualifying to fly an aircraft, he specialised on the McKean fighter craft, a flying machine which he managed with dexterity.
Now a politician who has carved a certain notoriety for making unusual remarks and playing to the gallery of the media, his conduct attracts most attention.
After campaigning and supporting Prof John Evans Atta Mills to come to power, he surprised Ghanaians including the membership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) when he recently put the old law teacher on the spotlight for what for him was a politically improper conduct since he assumed the reins of power.
Those who did not agree with him at the time felt such queries could best be issued outside the watchful eyes of the media.
A man not easily put down by such concerns, Mr. Rawlings does not appear to have regretted his action and could spurn whoever’s behaviour does not conform to his taste.
Whatever he seeks to do with the shots of the flying machines, his arguably most loved mechanical objects, the answer would be difficult to come by.
Perhaps the rusting DC 10 is a source of worry to the ex-President who could be contemplating offering a suggestion to his man at the throttles of political power.
Mr. Rawlings could also be savouring the lifting of a ban which prevented him from setting foot on military installations of which this portion of the facility could be one.
