He ruled this country for 19 years amidst controversy. Jerry John Rawlings however, had his good sides despite the negative stories that characterised his rule, both as a military leader and later a civilian ruler.

Born on June 22, 1947, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings is arguably the most popular ruler Ghana experienced apart from Kwame Nkrumah. He is also the youngest Head of State the country ever had.

At 32, the young military officer burst onto the political scene after leading the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) made of young military officers, in a coup d'état on June 4, 1979, that saw the overthrow of the Supreme Military Council (SMC II), another military regime led by General Fred Akuffo. 

He initially handed power over to a civilian government headed by late former President Dr. Hilla Limann on September 24, 1979.

Rawlings later took back control of the country on December 31, 1981, as the Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and ruled the country for 11 years.

The charismatic ruler retired from the army in 1992, and formed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on whose ticket he stood for president in the 1992 general elections and won with over 58%. He went on to win another election in 1996 and retired in 2000 after the constitution barred him from standing for a third term.

70 years, yet relevant

As the fascinating Ghanaian leader celebrates his 70th Birthday today, Thursday, June 22, 2017, two of his former subordinates –Nana Ato Dadzie, former Chief of Staff and Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo Mensah- have been sharing their experiences on the Joy FM's Super Morning Show, about the man Jerry John Rawlings.

“He is an enigma; he is a historic person who is also controversial. I can’t believe that he is 70 years,” Ghana’s longest-serving Chief of Staff told host of the Show, Kojo Yankson.

 Nana Ato Dadzie

For Nana Ato Dadzie, Rawlings is “like a moral compass; you may agree with him [and] you may disagree with him but…that is Mr. Jerry Rawlings for you”.

Paraphrasing a quote from one of the books of Ali Mazrui, a famous African writer, the former Chief of Staff described Rawlings as:”The man who started as the greatest dictator but ended up delivering the greatest democratic assets to the whole of the [African] continent.”

According to him, the ex-leader was seen among his people as “a wonderful man and a light-hearted person”. 

“I didn’t see him as a bully that people claimed he is; I didn’t see him as undemocratic as some people thought of him,” he said.

Even at 70, the Rawlings factor is still relevant in Ghana’s political history and he continues to make his voice heard on issues of morality, corruption and injustice to the extent that some persons in the NDC prefer he limits his criticism of the party he founded. 

“Why should he keep quiet? He is a Ghanaian [and] he has constitutional rights,” said Nana Ato Dadzie.

Brig. Gen. Nuno Mensah 

Incompetence 

To Brig. Gen. Nunoo-Mensah who is also a former Chief of Defense Staff, Jerry Rawlings is simply “a unique man”. “We don’t have anyone like him. In this country, I will mention Nkrumah and Jerry Rawlings. You will never have their kind in a century,” he declared. 

Brig. General Nunoo Mensah revealed how ‘Chairman Rawlings’ cleverly surrounded himself with highly qualified and knowledgeable persons who helped him manage affairs of the state at the time after realizing he lacked the capabilities to govern the country when he took over as military ruler.
 
“Rawlings knew he was not competent enough to run a government so he called us and many others to come and help [him].”

Anger of society

He said the former head of state did not hide his anger at certain ills that had taken over the Ghanaian society and “he is still angry with society” as many people who commit crime are left to go unpunished.

Jerry John Rawlings

“After all these years, Ghana is getting worse…those days nobody got away with a crime. And still we haven’t changed; we are more criminal than in those days,” remarked the former National Security Advisor under the government of the late President John Atta Mills.

“He is a kind, sympathetic, humble [and] respectful,” he said of Mr Rawlings.

Click audio attached: