Jerry John Rawlings, who seized control of Ghana after a successful coup d'etat in 1979, was the guest speaker at Elizabeth City State University Thursday evening.

Rawlings, a former military pilot and president of the West African nation, spoke during the first-ever Chancellor's Lecture Series Thursday evening at the K.E. White Center. More than 150 people, many ECSU faculty and students, attended the event for an opportunity to meet Rawlings and his wife, Nana.

Rawlings talked about Ghana's rocky history and the challenges it and other African nations face in a growing global economy.

"Africa has had to – as it were – reinvent itself and learn new ways of doing business with the world," he said.

Johnny Houston, director of ECSU's African Studies program, said before introducing Rawlings that Ghana experienced great social and economic reforms under Rawlings' leadership.

"(That's) because he had a passion for having the destiny of Ghana – for going in the direction that would benefit the people of Ghana," Houston said.

According to Rawlings, many of the problems that have plagued Africa for decades appear to be taking a turn for the better. For instance, new democracies have taken root across the continent and a handful of governments have embraced reforms, he said.

Many of the civil wars that seemed like they'd never end have come to a halt, or are on the verge of resolution, he said. And Madagascar was recently able to stave off what could have been another bloody conflict when an attempted coup in November failed, he said.

Rawlings, whose tenure as Ghana's president expired in 2000, cautioned that Africa's leaders must not be satisfied with those "small signs" of progress. That's because there is still much work to be done, he said.

"We must not be deceived by these small signs that a rebirth is under way," Rawlings said.

Africa's leaders must strive to abolish political corruption and bring an end to ethnic-based governments, improve human rights and abandon state-sponsored terrorism, Rawlings said.

"America came to terms with terrorism on Sept. 11," Rawlings said. "In Africa, we've been living under terrorist regimes and governments put on us for decades."

Rawlings, who is a retired military pilot, said he first came to power June 4, 1979 after a group of supporters revolted against Ghana's then-military regime.

With the coup's success, Rawlings was installed as chairman of the new Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. Ghana's new leader quickly asserted his authority.

In September 1979, Rawlings relinquished control of the country to the winner of Ghana's general elections.

Two years later, though, when the civilian-led government sputtered, Rawlings regained control of the country, this time as chairman of the Provisional National Defense Council.

Rawlings remained chairman until 1992, when he was first elected president of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. He was re-elected in 1996, but had to step down in 2000 because the nation's constitution prevented him from seeking a third term.

He was succeeded by John Kufuor, who is still Ghana's president and who Rawlings criticizes as corrupt.

"This regime has become so corrupt from day one," he said Thursday night. "You don't believe me? I challenge you to march to Ghana and see what's going on."