All ye readers please join me in giving a standing ovation to Former President Togbe Avaklasu J.J. Rawlings for winning the award for the best African Charlatan of the Century. His prowess as an air service man that was ready to die for some selfish agenda he believed in enabled him to stage a successful, but quite a bloody usurpation of power in 1979 and 1981. Being an orator, intimidator and power drunk, he dipped his long hands into the State coffers to form and finance his NDC party.

He ruled Ghana with iron fist for nineteen years. He single-handedly selected Professor Evans Atta Mills not only to be his Vice President but a three-time flag bearer of the NDC party. He thought to have found a weakling in whom there was a perceived possibility of Rawlings ruling Ghana again and again. Rawlings' unquenchable desire to rule Ghana was evident during and immediately after the 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections. He did threaten to rain brimstone on Ghana were the NDC not to win the elections. He was also seen gleefully punching the air with a mighty right fist saying, "I have come back, and I have come back". He had indeed come back!

No sooner had Atta Mills assumed the office of the President of Ghana than Rawlings realised his joy and expectations were all vanity. President Mills quickly noticed they were both holding widely divergent views. As Rawlings wanted Mills to trample upon the rule of law, infringe on people's rights, President Mills on the other hand wanted to strengthen such democratic values. At this initial juncture, they fell off. Rawlings has never forgiven his mentee, Atta Mills, for betraying him. Did Mr Mills not let swell up Rawlings' head with that broken promise, "I shall consult Former President Rawlings 24 hours a day and 7 days a week - 24/7?" President Mills is his own man but that is what Former President Rawlings detests to hear or see. He thought Professor Mills was a "boy boy" fool who was going to be a puppet dancing to the tune of the cracks of his fingers. Little did he know that the Law Professor was smarter and was going to proof Rawlings wrong? Professor is as sly as a fox and as wise as the serpent. Kudos to President Mills!

Mr. Rawlings has since taken President Mills to the dry cleaners. He has not only been castigating him publicly but hawkishly undermining his authority. Is Rawlings not the one claiming to be privy to the murder of the women in the streets of Accra in 2000 and the horrendous decapitation of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II of Dagbon? He has information on everything but refuses to release them to enable the arrest, successful prosecution and incarceration of the perpetrators of such heinous crimes. Rawlings needs to be arrested for withholding such vital information of national interest.

I am persuaded he has no any information but just whipping up sentiments to court political support. Try as he does, he will never succeed. He is a pure charlatan scheming to tarnish the hard won reputation of his adversaries. The more he experiments and executes his fiendish intentions, the deeper the retribution he gets. He is getting isolated at crescendo by his once NDC faithful who have now come to see his true colours. Rawlings is selfish, period! What moral right has he to preach the democratic values of transparency, probity and accountability whilst he is not making himself available for trial on such principles but cocooned in some stupid Constitutional clause of some sort?

Rawlings is now admonishing the NDC faithful to vote out President Mills. This is pure frustration if not insanity on his part. How does the failure to fulfil a manifesto promise to the Andanis lead to the rejection of President Mills? He is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Isn't he?

The death of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II has been very much politicized to the extent of causing tribal polarization in the Northern part of Ghana. Does this situation augur for the northerners or the nation? My answer is no but to Rawlings it is yes, why because it serves his evil intentions. Anyway, to reach any convincing outcome on the murder of Ya-Na through holding certain Abudus culpable is a far cry. Neither of the feuding families – the Abudus or the Andanis will ever be ready to accept the outcome as long as it does not tilt in their favour. "Na who cause am, Oga?" It is Rawlings. But will the death of Ya-Na go unanswered?

The way forward is either through amicable dialogue – sitting the elders of both families down to mediate for peace, or charging the initial instigators of the riot from both families for manslaughter but not murder. Rawlings must be stripped of the Indemnity Clause and then prosecuted for lying about having information on authors of crimes but blatantly refusing to release them.

The more Rawlings with his close confidants and insanely NDC diehards try to undermine President Mills, the more he, Rawlings gets ostracized. Will he learn from this to change for the better? An evil person will always remain evil. All that I know, and have predicted is President Mills will be a one-term President. He had better concentrate on doing his job satisfactorily than to try to chase the wind which is all but vanity. To deceive himself into thinking the NDC will rule Ghana for sixteen years is a pure humorous joke directed at cheer up his miserable soul.

Rockson Adofo