Open letter to Rawlings

Dear Former President Rawlings,

I write you this letter in deep quest to know what exactly you, your wife and family want from Ghanaians. You have in recent years behaved contrary to every word that you have been preaching from 1979. From probity to accountability, from fairness to social justice, you have acted totally in opposite directions to your words. From being a man who is consistent, you have become totally inconsistent even to the dismay of your greatest admirers.

Papa J, do you realise that you have lost a majority of your admirers because they have been waiting forever in vain for you to show them leadership? Many have given up on you because they realise that you, their leader is being misled by your own incorrigible wife? The NDC no longer feel that they have a FOUNDER because you have thrown that position away to the dogs.

Papa J, Sometimes, you say things that make even your most ardent supporters – if you still have any – unable to defend you. Recently, even Kofi Adams who is known to be capable of defending any contradiction from you, failed to uphold your Hippocratic condemnation of Dzifa Attivor, former transport minister under the NDC government. On TV, your own spokesman, Kofi Adams supported Mrs. Attivor’s ethnocentric comments and did not defend Akufo-Addo like you did. Even he is realising how delusional his boss has become so he has stopped defending you blindly.

How can you explain your sudden U-turn politically? We were all here in Ghana when you said that President J.A Kufuor and his cohorts including Nana Akufo-Addo are so corrupt and murderous they must never be allowed to rule Ghana again. You cited the killing of Ya Naa, the Dagbon King and several of his elders in 2002 as one dastardly act committed by the NPP.

Do you also remember Issah Mobila, the northern regional CPP chairman who got killed whiles in police detention? Roko Frimpong the banker whose killing was labelled ‘contract killing’? In all these circumstances you blamed the NPP government of Kufuor, Nana Akufo-Addo and others for them. Prior to the year 2000 elections in Ghana, several Ghanaian women were murdered mysteriously and no police investigations have been able to reveal the culprits. You also blamed that on the NPP. But today, when people of your own government make allegations of ethnocentrism against Nana Akufo-Addo, you the FOUNDER of the ruling NDC jump to his defence without shame? How can you explain it?

Papa J, we understand that you may be suffering from some disease of some sort which affects your memory, but we still expect you to remember some of these allegations that you made so loudly and sanctimoniously to the hearing of many Ghanaians who believed in you.

As if that is not enough, you fought President Atta Mills, your own protégé simply because, in your holier than thou perception, the good old Prof had refused to investigate and punish the NPP elements that you allege to have committed these crimes against Ghanaians. Even though Atta Mills is no more with us, you have persisted in denigrating and insulting his good memory at every opportunity you get all because he did not punish NPP leaders and their functionaries for the crimes you claim they committed during their reign.

Today, nobody in the NPP has paid for these crimes of murder and stealing that you describe as ROT left behind. Yet, you Papa J have suddenly forgotten about it, and have turned around to prefer the NPP and Nana Akufo-Addo in power rather than John Mahama and the NDC. Isn’t it your wife Nana Konadu Agyeman – Rawlings who alleged in 2008 that Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP Flagbearer of the NPP is not a qualified lawyer?

Today you and your wife are openly campaigning for that same so-called ‘fake’ lawyer? Does that mean all the noise about probity, accountability, integrity, transparency, consistency of principle etc etc that you keep talking about is just empty rhetoric? Have you always been fooling your followers?? Well, let me remind you that nobody is fooled by your old discredited gimmicks!

Even during the reign of President Mills, as you and your wife kept insulting him, you went to him for money. Your wife took a judgement debt of USD$5Million from the Mills government, yet you attack Alfred Woyome as a thief but not your wife.

Why? When it has to do with you and your family does corruption become justifiable?

Tell us, Papa J? Is it because you want to rule Ghana by controlling every President that comes into office? You couldn’t control President J.A Kufuor, therefore he is a thief and murderer? You couldn’t control President Mills therefore he was slow, condoned and couldn’t punish wrong doing? And now, you cannot control President John Mahama therefore, he is corrupt? We even heard you saying that the only good thing about President Mahama is that he hasn’t hired people to insult you, your wife and family. Do you think Ghana revolves around only your family? Is there an end to your family’s greed and selfishness?

Do you think that you are the wisest and holiest man in Ghana? How come that everyone is always wrong and you and your wife are always right? How come that all your friends from PNDC days have fallen out with you? How come that those who did the ‘thinking’ for you during your reign are not agreeing with you today?

Even Capt. Kojo Tsikata who was your longest serving national security capo, Kofi Totobi Quakye, Kwesi Botwe, Tsatsu Tsikata who was your lawyer during PNDC time, Tony Aidoo your economic brains, Where are all these people? Why do they all ignore you today? Can’t you just stop for a moment and look back to realize that you now just shout without anybody listening to you and nobody following you?

We know Papa J, that Prof. Mills allowed you the power to appoint some of his officials just to make you happy and fall in line but no, that was not enough so you hounded the poor old Prof to his grave and beyond with your wife. We also know that even President Mahama gave you the power to appoint some officials into his administration. Yet, you remain adamant in your opposition of the NDC simply because you are not fully in charge.

What at all do you people want?

Papa J, Please don’t be deceived or deluded by any overtures from Nana Akufo-Addo. If ever he becomes President – with or without – your support, he will continue the J.A Kufuor agenda – bringing you and your corrupt wife to account for your past deeds.

President J.A Kufuor tried to jail your wife but she narrowly escaped when the NPP lost power. It was Nana Akufo-Addo as Attorney – General who led that charge against your corrupt wife. Ghanaians will demand of Akufo-Addo to give justice for all the looting and callous killings of your regime.

Don’t forget, the indemnity clauses that you illegally put in the constitution does not cover your wife. All the gimmicks to placate Nana Akufo-Addo will not work. You claim that you don’t subscribe to ethnocentric politics, yet, when you came into power, you destroyed all the business of Akans and therefore the industrial base of Ghana.

Or do you think we have forgotten? You even chased away Akan business men and gave away their properties and their factories to foreigners. It is because of you that all the businesses men in Ghana today are foreigners.

And what did you get in return from the foreigners who took over the mainly Akan- Ghanaian businesses you seized? You are the biggest tribalist and morally bankrupt man Ghana has ever seen so stop pretending that you are a nationalist. We know that you hate northerners and you hate Akans – except your wife.

Nana Akufo-Addo, knows your double standards. He knows you cannot be trusted. But Nana Akufo-Addo also knows that you Papa J hate him and all his kin. You may attempt to fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

By the way, Papa J, what are you and your wife Nana Konadu trying to do with your daughter? You think you can eat your cake and still have it? Can’t you and your wife spare anyone, not even your own children in your blood thirsty quest to stay in power?

What at all do you people want?

Whiles pushing Zanetor your daughter illegally into the NDC government through parliament, you are at the same time working for the NDC to go into opposition. You want your daughter to parliament but you couldn’t advise her to do the right thing by simply registering to vote? Do you think your family is above the law in Ghana?

And to make matters worse, you and your wife have tried to destroy your own daughter by chasing away all the men in her life including fathers of her children. How do you think your daughter can go into parliament with all that baggage? Three children with two different men and no husband, and yet, you Papa J have been calling Zanetor a role model? What sort of role model is that?

You and your wife Nana Konadu chased Rojo Mettle Nunoo away from her sister and their children. You also chased David Ampofo away from his wife and their children. And now, you are chasing Herbert Mensah away from Zanetor and her children.

What at all do you people want?

How can everybody always be WRONG whiles you and your wife always be RIGHT? Do you people want to destroy even your own children and grandchildren just for power? Do you people want to die before you reconcile your tainted consciences?

What at all do you people want? Tell us!

Yours sincerely

Kwame Amakye,

Ahinsan, Kumasi