The Great Men's Cross 9: Jerry John Rawlings1

‘Liberty is won with the edge of the machete: it is not asked for. To beg for rights is the domain of cowards incapable of exercising these rights’ - Antonio Maceo. When peaceful revolution is impossible, then violent revolution becomes inevitable.

Robert Greene in the 48 Laws of Power advised to always know when to stop fighting, while he also agreed to crush your enemies completely. A battle never fought is a battle waiting to be fought. Such is from the lesson of Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, who mastered the laws of power and utilized it to the end. He was the man that helped clean Ghana's mess of corruption, and we keenly wait for the Nigerian version.

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Jerry John Rawlings, who was born on 22 June 1947, is once a head of state and president of Ghana. Rawlings formerly came to power in Ghana just as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force after a coup d’etat in 1979. He then handed power to a civilian government but have to seize the power again on 31 December 1981. 

Rawlings resigned from the Armed Forces of Ghana and founded the National Democratic Congress and he eventually became the first President of the Fourth Republic in Ghana. He got reelected in 1996 for another four years, and currently, he serves as the African Union envoy to Somalia.

Play the Emotional Card

On 15 May 1979, Rawlings tried a coup d’etat with the support of a group of military personnel on the Ghanaian government that was led by General Fred Akuffo. This was unsuccessful and he was arrested, imprisoned and was to be sentenced to death. At his trial, Rawlings gave a very emotional speech which got the large section of the public to support him and rose to fight for him. On June 4, soldiers that were loyal to Rawlings broke him out of jail and he then led another revolt of both military and civilians which ousted General Akuffo and the Supreme Military Council; this automatically put him in command. 

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Rawlings and the soldiers with him then forced the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) who conducted what they call ‘a housecleaning exercise’ which was set up to clean the Ghanaian society of corruption in any form as this was the sole aim of the coup d’etat.

The AFRC then organized an election and the candidate of the People’s National Party (PNP), Hilla Limaan won the election. Again on 31 December 1981, Rawlings with the support of the soldiers with him and some civilians overtook the government of Limann just when it was about a new year. Rawlings and his accomplices claimed that there was so much economic mismanagement and decided to overtake Limann’s government. Rawlings set up a Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and made himself the chairman.

Rawlings retired from the military in 1992 and set up the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He then allowed political parties and also organized presidential and parliamentary elections when there was a public demand for a more democratic process in the governing of the country. Rawlings won the election with 58.3 percent of the vote and as witnessed by foreign observers; they claimed the election was ‘free and fair’. Also in 1996, Rawlings won another presidential election inn Ghana.

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When Rawlings finished his second term, since he could not contest again, he supported his vice-president Atta Mills to contest for president in 2000.

Jerry John Rawlings: When will our Savior come

The Beginning

Jerry Rawlings was born on 22 June 1947 in Accra, Gold Coast to Victoria Agbotui who was from the Volta Region of Ghana and James Ramsey John, a native of Scotland. While growing, Rawlings attended the Achinota School and later got posted to Takoradi which was in the Western Region to further his studies.

Know your Clique

Rawlings graduated in January 1969, and he was commissioned a Pilot Officer and as well won the desired ‘Speed Bird Trophy’ which made him the best cadet to fly the Su-7 ground attack supersonic jet aircraft. He also earned the rank of Flight Lieutenant (Flt. Lt.) in April 1978. When he was serving in the Ghanaian Air Force, Rawlings was displeased with the amount of deterioration of discipline and morale, which reflected the corruption present in the Supreme Military Council.

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Soon, he got promoted and was close to the elite class and their social values and he felt the injustice and distance between the rich and the poor was just too much; this got him so infuriated. He then started to read wide on social and political ideas and also grew a group of friends that had similar mind and opinion with him.

Be known for something

In May 1979, Rawlings along with six other soldiers were arrested by the Ghanaian Military and accused of mutiny based on a coup attempt on the military government of Ghana led by General Fred Akuffo. Rawlings was made to face the General Court Martial and was alleged of leading a squad of soldiers on 15 May 1979 to overthrow the government...The Great Men's Cross: Jerry John Rawlings 2

Thanks for reading. We hope you share to awaken the conscience and sensitize the oppressed society on the need to stand up and fight for their right. We don't win by staying back, of course we win by going all out to fight. You don't solve a problem by managing it, you surmount it by fighting it.

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