Albert Einstein once said that, genius is often misunderstood by mediocre minds and I think it's true. Equally true is that whilst fortune rewards the brave, cowards are often left to live a life consumed with revenge, fear, excuses, jealousy and bitterness. Nobody said that the road towards progress would be easy, but we do give a try. Sometimes lives are either sacrificed or lost on this precarious road, yet we continue. For the brave in heart, the difference between failure and success is the word try.
When Rawlings and his cohorts ousted president Hilla Limann through a coup d'etat in 1979, he displayed sheer bravery beyond mortal belief. He fully knew and understood what the repercussions would be should he fail, but went ahead anyway. So what compelled him to risk dear life for death?Was it an innate ambition to prove something extraordinary to himself and to the rest world? Or was he just acting out on a request made by the gods of Ghana, to bring the continuous circle of coup d'etats which were dwindling the country's fortune, and destabilizing her to a permanent halt? Many reasons could been given as to why he did what he did, but one particular reason vividly stands out. To bring the hegemony of the Akans to a full stop.
Ghana is a melting pot of different tribes, and this reality has always been our strength as a nation. But this strength could also become a source of weakness or even a recipe for tribal disaster. Especially when one particular tribe feels itself superior to the rest. Akans have always felt themselves to be superior to the rest. They believe that Ghana is for them, and therefore should be treated as her first class citizens. And if this is their case, then how should the other tribes be treated? Like second class citizens or what? Indeed if Ghana was going to be greater nation than her past, or even the gateway to Africa, then she needed to get her house in order.
Ghana's independence was never intended to promote tribalism, ethnocentrism or even racism. But to promote the Whiteman's worse nightmare, which is the unity of all Black people. Really, freedom is ours to have and to possess, but what's the sense of freedom without unity? And how could there be unity, if one tribe, because of its power and influence seeks ruler-ship over the rest? The bottom line is, both Akans and non Akans are all Ghanaians first and foremost. And this is the message which Rawlings came to relay, if only we could see pass the gun. To put it in short, Rawlings came to unite a country which was polarized by tribalism. Furthermore to give the long oppressed in our society a voice, and a political platform on which to voice out their concerns regarding a nation which loves them so much. Moreover to remind us of what we have in common, as opposed to what we don't have in common.
There those amongst us who are quick in accusing him of murdering this and murdering that. And why? Because these enemies of progress believe that there should be salvation without a price. Pleasure without a pain. Well, for their information, there is no salvation without a price. I mean didn't God sacrifice his only begotten Son for the sins of the world? So why are they constantly bickering about the sacrificial deaths of the three judges and the military officers? They died to unite us. And this is something which all of those accusing Rawlings of murder should know. Now I don't know if Rawlings might have lived back when legends and history collide, because he is truly unique. Both his name and achievements would live on long after the pyramids of Egypt, and the wall of China have both settled for dust. I truly hope that when he passes away, they would bury him face down, so that all his enemies could kiss his behind.