I used to think that, the BOOM-BOOM rhetoric emanating from Ex-president Jerry Rawlings will one day minimize or completely evaporate into thin air with the election of his NDC. Then one day the “Rawlings boy”, His Excellency President Mill, came to power. One day I heard someone yelling on one of the local radio stations. I thought it was Ex-president Kuffour practicing the JJ-Boom-Boom kind of rhetoric. I could not wait to watch the evening news. Then I found out that it JJ on his own poor President Fiifi Mills. I then ask myself, what does Efo Rawlings want??? Is it the headlines that he loves and cherishes???

As an elderly and most senior statesman of modern day Ghana, Rawlings must and should know that Ghana is the only country we have and UNITY rests on his shoulders. Unifying a nation is not an easy task and not a one-man’s job, but it requires a leader who is respected by most citizens if not all. Mr. Rawlings cannot shy away from that responsibility, but sometimes his utterances sway a lot of citizens who are not NPP sympathizers away from him. The days of sitting on top of an armored truck and shouting like a lunatic and the youth asking for more are over. Those days are long gone. Mr. Rawlings should know Ghanaians have learnt from the mistakes of supporting the “excesses” of the AFRC. We don’t get scared by shouting and yelling, but by sitting at the table, talking and listening at the same time.

Today, we have two ex-presidents in our country who can not call each other to say hi. Instead of leading Ghana with elderly skills Mr. Rawlings is the most polarizing figure in Ghanaian politics and sometimes acts like an enemy of democracy after enjoining it for 8yrs. For all these years of traveling back and forth to the US and interacting with the like of Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela of South Africa, he should have asked for once why they are adored both at home and abroad. I know JJ loves his country with passion, but your political rival should not be your ARCH-ENEMY. They are good citizen with a different point of view, and they sometime possess intellectual ideas that work better.

Not only has Rawlings been able to divide his country, but he has successfully divided NDC into the PRO-Rawlings and ANTI-Rawlings. Some of the greatest heroes of our time that abound and can contribute meaningfully in achieving Ghana’s VISION 2020 cannot sit at the same table with Efo Rawlings, even though they are members of the NDC. Where are Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, Kojo Tsikata, and P.V. Obeng? These are intellectuals and bureaucrats with vast knowledge and experience, but the name EFO scares them off. On May 4th 2009, there was a group picture posted on ghanaweb.com with ex-presidents Rawlings and Kufour at the African Presidential Roundtable Conference in Berlin. That picture tells a lot about the bitter animosity between the two elderly statesmen we have today.

I shed tears looking at the picture and ask myself, why can’t these two grown-ups acting like kindergarten kids unite and help poor Fiifi Mill move mother Ghana forward? Do you know how much Ghana will gain when or if Rawlings and Kuffour come together and travel around the globe, soliciting for funds and inviting investors. Rawlings/Kuffour-team spells democratic stability and security for investors and tourists. Can Rawlings pause for a minute, look past his shoulder and take a look at Bill Clinton/George Bush I? They make a good team and are respected not as individuals but as one hell of a United States and UNITED-EX-PRESIDENTS. Remember that the only person that is not talked about is a dead person.

Yes Efo Rawlings, it can be done. It’s just a matter of EGO and petty bickering. Just wake up one day, take a good shower and wash that ego and animosity off your face. Drive yourself to Mr. Kuffour’s house and knock on the door. Have a nice breakfast under a tree in his house and iron out whatever differences you have and then invite the media. Don’t forget to invite the likes of Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, P.V. Obeng, Kojo Tsikata and Kwame Peprah for lunch with a special Akpele. Let them know that a new day has dawn in Ghana and UNITY starts today. Remember that Ghana is greater and important than both Rawlings and Kuffour. One day you might not be there anymore, but Ghana lives till eternity. Ghana is waiting for your leadership, if you can’t do it now, PLEASE keep quite and speak no more.

Muhammed Suraj Sulley Jawando (LRT)

New York Presbyterian Hospital

msjawando@gmail.com / mjawando@verizon.com