For a man who survived countless coup attempts, some of which were very bloody, to overthrow him from power as Head of State of Ghana, for one who survived countless assassination attempts as well especially during the heady days of the revolution, the way Rawlings passed away in the early hours of November 12, 2020 has left many feeling numb.
Rawlings was one of those personalities who appeared larger than life. He was in the league of the likes of Bob Marley, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, Robert Mugabe, Malcolm X and Du Bois. A pan-Africanist, his huge image permeated the entire African continent. In 2000, at the turn of the millennium, listeners to Gabonese Radio Station, Number Un, spread across Africa voted for him as AFRICAN OF THE MILENIUM ahead of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Nelson Mandela. So why have we not seen any comets nor hear the heavens blazed forth his death?
Rawlings was a great man but who members of the ‘ma te me hu’ party, that is members of the Busia-Danquah tradition loathe. They hated him and everything he stands for. And since he erupted on to the political scene, their daily menu has been how to kill him.
I remember the Nobistor affair in 1986. It was a coup plot to topple the Rawlings regime. It was organized and financed by leading members of the Busia-Danquah tradition, especially one Godfred Osei and the late J.H Mensah, Finance Minister in the Busia government and later Senior Minister in the Kufuor government.
Eight Argentine and ten American Mercenaries led by one John Early were hired for the bloody plot. A ship, Nobister, was hired for the operation. Loaded with all kinds of sophisticated weapons, they headed for Ghana from a base in South America. However, the plot was thwarted by Ghana’s National Security then in the capable hands of Captain Kojo Tsikata (rtd), alias Carlos Silva Da Gomez, a.k.a Gbagbladza ( Cockroach), who, coordinating with Ghana’s Ambassador to Brazil then, the late Prof. Kofi Awoonor, managed to get the mercenaries nabbed while the ship was in Brazilian waters and heading for Ghana. Documents found on the mercenaries showed how the bloody operation was to be carried out.
Per the document, the mercenaries, on landing on the shores of Ghana were to attack the Castle, Osu, then the seat of government and kill all members of the PNDC, especially the Chairman and Head of State, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings. They were also to kill his wife, Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and their children.
The second target was to be the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) at Kanda, then the only radio and TV station in Ghana. The mercenaries were then to proceed to the James and Ursher Fort Prisons, attack it and set the prisoners, many of whom were there for alleged subversive acts against the PNDC government. These prisoners will join the mercenaries to continue the operation.
Also to be attacked and seized per the documents seized from the mercenaries were the Kotoka International Airport, Burman Camp where the Operational Headquarters of the PNDC was situated and then the Akosombo Dam.
Why will the mercenaries be directed to kill Mrs. Rawlings and the children as well? The answer is simply; the hatred for Rawlings was such that they wanted to carry it on to even his wife and children. Had the coup succeeded, there would have been no Mrs. Rawlings, Zanetor, Asantewaa, Amina and Kimathi today as far as the Busia-Danquahist represented today by the NPP are concerned.
The hatred for Rawlings by members of the Busia-Danquah ‘mate me hu’ party was second to none. They wished him ill. They wished him dead. They plotted his overthrown and assassination several times but failed.
Two years before the Nobistor Affair, in the early hours of June 19, 1983, a coup was staged to overthrow Rawlings. Led by Lance Corporal Alidu Gyiwa, it seemed to have succeeded when the voice of Gyiwa, booming from GBC announced the successful overthrow of Rawlings and ordered all members of the PNDC to “report to the nearest police station for their own safety”.
The spontaneous jubilation that greeted this announcement can today best be imagined than seen. Haters of Rawlings ( Busia-Danhuahist) poured into the streets jubilating. There was jubilation even in some churches. But ultimately, the coup failed when loyal soldiers fought back to regain control. The wild jubilation evaporated immediately. Later, speaking at the launching of the Rehabilitation and Replanting of Burnt Cocoa Farms at Kwabeng on Friday, July 1, 1983, Rawlings had this to say,“One can only marvel at the shortsightedness of the jubilators who by that time had no idea what type of people were staging this bloody coup which left us with so many victims including innocent ones. One is forced to question the astonishing fact that some church compounds were so suddenly turned into stages for dancing competitions and information centres for subversive materials…Another lesson which the events of last Sunday have taught us is that there comes a point when moderation, restrain and the avoidance of confrontation becomes counter-productive…Therefore, the time has come to deal with these elements in terms which they can understand…”
Clearly, there was no love lost between Rawlings and those who positioned themselves as his enemies and wished him ill.
Once Ghana was ushered into the new multi-party democracy in 1992, the party of Rawlings haters which used to be called the United Party (UP), changing into the Progress Party (PP) and later the Popular Front Party (PFP) became known and called the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Their new name did not change anything about their hatred for the Flight Lieutenant. As Rawlings himself noted at the launch of the NDC manifesto at the Cape Coast Sports stadium in 2016, the Busia-Danquahist change their name but their nature has never changed.
“The NPP cannot be underestimated. You know it and I know it. They’ve been in existence for a long time and have been changing their names up till this day. The nature of who they are, what they are, where they come from is something they are happy with and they would be there for a long time…”
Once Ghana went democratic, they continued their attacks on him. All kinds of veiled propaganda were waged against him and his wife. They said Rawlings was a drug addict. They said he was a homosexual. They said he was a thief. They said he was not the biological father of his children. They said he dabbles in juju and had even swallowed a frog. These lies are believed by some of their supporters to this day.
Their hatred for him was again manifested in 1999 when it was falsely reported that he and his wife had been killed in a car accident on the Accra-Tema motorway on their way to the Volta Region.
It was indeed a fatal car crash after a trotro suddenly crossed the Rawlingses car. Four of Rawlings’ bodyguards, unfortunately and sadly, died on the spot. Thankfully, Rawlings and his wife survived. Again, the spontaneous jubilation by the NPP supporters had to be cut short. That is why it harrowed me with wonder and fear when Rawlings, because of disagreements with some persons within his own party, the NDC, walked into the arms of his enemies. He walked into the arms of those who hold him responsible for the deaths of their loved ones during the June 4th revolt. He walked into the arms of those who hold him and his wife responsible for the murder of the three High Court judges and the retired army officer on June 30, 1982. He walked into the arms of those who go jubilating anytime they hear he has been killed.
Having failed to use very violent means to kill him, they changed strategy. They began to smile at him. They opened their arms to him for a hug. They invited him to their programmes. And Rawlings committed a basic error; he fell for it. Strangely, Rawlings forgot the age old admonishment, “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes,” (Fear the Greeks when they send you a gift”).
It was an error because these people had sworn NEVER to forgive him for the death of their loved ones during the June 4th revolt and the heady days of the revolution. They hold him personally responsible for the deaths though when they were given the opportunity, they were unable to produce a single witness who will say Rawlings ordered him to kill. It is important for a person to become very alert when his or her sworn enemy begins to smile at him/her. Be on guard when your enemies, who holds you responsible for the death of his uncles, fathers, mothers, aunts etc opens his or her arm to embrace you. Especially, when you are NDC and the NPP is clapping for you for whatever you are doing, or open their arms to you, be on guard; as they themselves say behind Rawlings, ‘y3 ne wo sri kwa’ meaning “we are only pretending to be smiling with you”.
Alas, he died while with them. Don’t blame NDC supporters who smell something fishy about his death because he died in their arms; he died in the arms of those who have always wished him ill, those who plotted to overthrow him, those who plotted to kill him, those who jubilated anytime there is news that Rawlings has been killed. When a bird cries at night and a child is found dead in the morning, everyone know who is responsible.
We see them shedding tears publicly for Rawlings but we know behind the closed doors of their home, they are jubilating. What they have always prayed they lived to see has happened. They are congratulating themselves. Yet ironically, these die hard enemies of Rawlings are the ones who officially announced his death to the world and will be the ones who will plan his burial and funeral.
Is it not interesting that they are the ones, while secretly jubilating, have the nerve to describe those who truly loved him, defended and protected him for years as hypocrites for grieving over his death. Their public show of grief and their attempt to dress grieving NDC supporters in borrowed robes will not wash.
Yes, Rawlings had disagreements with some in the NDC. His disagreements with them led some to quit the party. Mrs. Emma Mitchel, the Minister of Trade in Rawlings’ regime just last week told how her disagreements with Rawlings led her to quit his government.
Disagreements are normal in any human organization. It is natural. Even twins have their disagreements. Rawlings called some people in the NDC names. Some in the NDC too called him names. But only a dunce will suggest that it is hypocritical for those who disagreed with him or criticized him to go mourning or eulogizing him. Rawlings, like all of us, was not an angel but he certainly was not a devil. So there can be nothing wrong for those he fought in the trenches with but fell out with in latter days eulogizing him after he passed away. What do they want these people to do? Come out and jubilate or attack? Do they know and understand why it is said that “De mortuis nihil nisi bonum”, that is “Of the dead, say nothing but good” or “speak no ill of the dead”?
So, let the Johnny-Just-Comes who want to claim they love Rawlings more than the rest of the NDC stop inflicting their ignorance on the rest of us. If they want to lean on their own misunderstanding, so be it. That is their choice. Those among them who are secretly dining and winning with the NPP must realize that the elephants never forgets nor forgives. So, if they know what is good for them, they’ll not dine with them even with a long spoon. And I pray Rawlings’ children will not be fooled by the overtures the NPP is making at them too. It is poisoned chalice! They must “Fear the Greeks when they come bearing gifts”
By Michael Dokosi