Former President Jerry John Rawlings has subtly described President John Mahama as too weak to deal with the current challenges of the nation.

President Mahama’s situation, he went on, had been aggravated by the presence of personalities with attributes which did not augur well for “the smooth management of the state”.

He was speaking last Saturday during this year’s Hogbetsotso festival of the people of Anloga in the Volta Region, where he employed unusual diplomacy in conveying his thoughts in a way as to spare President Mahama frontal attacks.

Opinion leaders such as chiefs and the members of the Council of State, according to the former President, should not hesitate to point out the truth to President Mahama, whose advisors, he implicitly said, were hiding important facts from him.

Describing President Mahama as one who had the interest of the country at heart, he said the Number One Citizen could only succeed if his advisors were open about the realities of the Ghanaian situation.

He did not leave out the subject of corruption which, he noted, had become the order of the day at both the national and urban levels, requiring action by all to arrest, because like other crimes, it posed a serious danger to the survival of our communities.

“Crimes such as murder, rape, armed robbery and corruption have become the order of the day, not only at national and urban levels, but also at the most grassroots of places,” he said.

Former President Rawlings encouraged Ghanaians to endorse leadership which supports socio-economic development that benefits everybody and not just a few.

Turning to injustice, he said, “Fighting injustice requires us to be resolute and be above reproach. Our society cannot progress if at community level we do not embrace qualities of truth, equity, accountability and integrity.”

Corruption, which he said had become the order of the day, was coming on the heels of the unenviable number three rating accorded the country last week by an international rating firm.

Former President Rawlings’s abrasive yet subtle remarks about President Mahama’s advisors appeared to tie in with those passed by other personalities in the party. While some have described them as vampires, he chose to regard Mahama’s advisors as hiding facts from the President.

Traditional festivals, and in the past few weeks an appearance at UDS Tamale, have offered former President Rawlings, who had taken a break from public comments for some time now, an opportunity to relive his past, albeit with a dose of diplomacy to avoid hitting the President too hard.