Record Setting: 569 Out Of 569 People Voted Unanimously To Characterize J. J. Rawlings

An article published on August 2nd 2009, in the news section of Ghanaweb.com reports JJ Rawlings as saying, but for Nigeria’s Yar’Ardua, His Excellency J. A. Kuffuor (HE Kuffuor) and Hon. Nana Akkuffo-Addo would have rigged the last presidential elections.

There are two very outstanding record setting features about this article. The first unprecedented feature of the article is that for about six years that I have been using the resources at Ghanaweb.com, this is the first article that has ever fetched the largest number of responses. At the time of putting this comment together, the number of responses stood at 569 and the tally was still operational.

The second record setting feature of the article is that not only did all 569 (100 per cent) of the comments brand the assertions of Rawlings a total fallacy, but also they all characterized Rawlings as a dangerous fool in diverse languages. Again, for about six years that I have been using the resources at Ghanaweb.com, this is the first article ever, for which all the responses harmoniously take the same stance on both the article and the character therein. For one hundred per cent of responses to adopt the same stance, their characterization of Rawlings must be fully accurate.

Please go to the archives at Ghanaweb.com and verify this for yourself. I concur with the overwhelming and record setting vote to characterize JJ Rawlings as a dangerous fool. The rational for the vote is enormous but I am laying out only a small fraction of it in the paragraphs that follow.

I have said it repeatedly elsewhere and at this forum that at least ninety (90) per cent of the cause of any problem in Ghana at the moment can be traced to JJ Rawlings. Consequently, the NPP administration under the able leadership of HE Kuffour inherited massive amounts of chaos and problems from the Rawlings administration. Notwithstanding, the NPP successfully solved greater portions of these problems under the limited eight year term in office. To completely solve all the national problems of the magnitude created by the Rawlings/NDC administration would require longer than an eight year tenure in office. Thus, if Rawlings was not a dangerous fool, and he was wise, he would concentrate on moving the country forward by borrowing from the progressive mechanisms employed by the NPP.

For example, the Rawlings/NDC administration destroyed the credit worthiness of Ghana so badly that when the NPP came to office, at the onset, the NPP had to resort to borrowing from very unfavorable lending sources. The NPP successfully restored the credit worthiness of Ghana so well that Rawlings/Atta Mills/NDC recently had no difficulty securing loans from the World Bank. Still, a lot needs to be done to fully dig Ghana out the credit slump into which the Rawlings/NDC administration dumped the nation. If Rawlings was not a dangerous fool, he would borrow from the successful methods employed by the NPP administration.

The Rawlings/NDC administration destroyed the educational system of the country such that the disgraceful impacts were felt even beyond the borders of Ghana. For example, when we came to the USA to study years ago, proficiency in the English language was the least of our problems and most Ghanaian students even ranked unparalleled at well-renowned universities. Quite shocking is the fact that some students from the current education system in Ghana have to attend remedial English classes to be able take lessons. The NPP administration improved the deficient education system that had been started by the Rawlings/NDC administration, but there is still room for improvement. Investment in education is the wisest thing that any government would do and if Rawlings was not a dangerous fool he would borrow from the successful methods of the NPP administration.

The Rawlings/NDC administration completely destroyed the government supported mass transit system of the country. Consider the fact that a capital city like Accra had no government supported public busses in operation. The NPP administration restored the mass transit system in Accra. In addition, the NPP resuscitated the Accra-Tema railway line, to help workers who would commute between the two cities. Again, there is still room for improvements in the mass transit system. For example; the train cars plying between Accra-Kumasi-Takoradi are worse off than those in museums elsewhere. If Rawlings was not a dangerous fool he would recognize and adopt the successful methods of the NPP.

The list of the successful accomplishments of the NPP administration, which mitigated the devastating impacts from the Rawlings/NDC administration, is very long and I cannot do justice to the entire list. The country has not fully recovered from the bad condition into which the Rawlings/NDC administration put her. The good works of the NPP in lifting the country out of the mess in which the Rawlings/NDC administration dumped the nation needs to be supplemented. If Rawlings was not a dangerous fool, these are the issues with which he would concern himself.

You may ask why I am addressing Rawlings when Atta-Mills is the person sitting in office. You should realize that it is Rawlings, not Atta-Mills who is calling the shots. It all falls in line with the subject of a feature article which I wrote at Ghanaweb.com, in the heat of the last presidential elections. In my article I warned that voting Atta-Mills into office would translate into voting Rawlings into office, because Rawlings would impose policies and agenda on Atta-Mills. This is exactly what we are seeing and as one of the 569 responses correctly pointed out: “Atta-Mills is a remote control president”. “Remote control” in the sense that Rawlings imposes policies and agenda on Atta-Mills from his (Rawlings’) house in the same way as one exerts control over one’s TV, VCR and other gadgets from a distance.

Rawlings should realize that unlike HE Kuffuor, he (Rawlings) has a history of subversion and the use of illegal methods to overthrow constitutionally elected governments to ascend to power and stay in power. The record exists. HE Kuffuor has a clean record in this regard. If Rawlings is looking for a person who is likely to use unlawful methods to arrest power he should go into his bedroom and look inside his dressing mirror and he will find such a person.

A UNANIMOUS VOTE BY 569 OUT OF 569 PEOPLE CANNOT BE FLAWED. INDEED THEY IDENTIFIED A VERY DANGEROUS FOOL.