President Rawlings and corruption

Former President Rawlings has a delusional perception of himself as an incorruptible leader who held corruption at bay during his two-decade tenure as leader of Ghana. That view is false!!

During an interview with Nigerian media, he removed all doubts about his corrupt nature by admitting that he took a 2 million USD donation from perhaps the bloodiest and most corrupt Nigerian leader of them all, General Abacha. During the interview, President Rawlings described Abacha as " one hell of a nationalist and very patroitic " He continued, " Abacha saved the country ( Nigeria )". Ebei JJ!!

Abacha was the dictator who stole billions of USD and extinguished every democratic right of Nigerians during his ill-fated, 5 year rule. Noble laureate Wole Soyinka condemned him with passion. US Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said of Abacha in 2014, " Rather than serve his country, Gen. Abacha used his public office in Nigeria to loot billions of dollars, engaging in kleptocracy". Nigeria recovered over a billion dollars from his loot. The question for us as Ghanaians is this, "What was the 2 million from Abacha for? Was it a bribe?

The truth is that if the Rawlings of 1979 met the Abacha of 1998, Abacha would have received a hale of bullets at Teshie !!

Of course, long before Rawlings got Abacha's millions, his image as the incorruptible revolutionary was in tatters.

His government had been tainted by the Norwegian cement scandal, the British MABEY and Johnson scandal and the sale of state assets to NDC functionaries for "donkomi" prices under the guise of privitization. Corruption in the NDC started with Rawlings during the PNDC era. Mills only continued it.

That is why Mr. Rawlings vouching for Nana Addo's integrity on the same day he praised Abacha is a double insult. It would be the equivalent of Mussolini vouching for your human rights credentials the same day he is extolling the democratic credentials of Adolf Hitler. Every man and woman with judgment would recognize this insult and reject it.

Long live the NPP.

Long live Ghana.

Arthur K