A Sociology lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Kingsley Agyei has stated that former President Jerry Rawlings only has power in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) but not in the whole country. According to Mr. Agyei, even though the former President may be the founder of the NDC, he does not have the authority to decide who should be made a Minister or a Member of the Council of State, adding it is President Mills who has the sole right and power to make appointments. The sociologist made the statement on Dwaso Nsem on Adom FM Thursday in reaction to former President Rawlings’ pronouncement that he will not go to war with cowards. Mr. Rawlings is reported to have made the comments at a meeting with a group called the Concerned NDC Members on Wednesday. Kingsley Agyei said Jerry Rawlings’ declaration not to go to war with cowards is a figurative statement which literally means that he will not campaign for President Mills in the 2012 elections, adding the statement also gives indications that there is still a power struggle going on in the NDC. He stated that even though former President Rawlings played a pivotal role in the victory of the NDC in the 2008 elections and the party cannot win election without him, people with charisma like Mr. Rawlings do not see that their charisma is waning and often ride on their past glory which can be problematic sometimes. On why Mr. Rawlings has constantly been criticizing President Mills, he noted that the President may be veering off from the ideologies of the NDC while he has not been able to satisfy the former President’s call for the prosecution of perceived corrupt officials in the NPP administration. Mr. Agyei was however quick to point out that democracy is not like a revolution where arbitrary arrests can be made adding that if proper investigations are not carried out before people are prosecuted, innocent persons can be jailed. “In a democratic dispensation seeking justice is slow but justice will surely be carried out,” he stressed. He also noted that leadership styles of leaders cannot be the same so the fact that President Mills was once a Vice President to former President Rawlings did not mean he (Rawlings) could have an upper hand over the President’s government. He also added that what pertained in governance in the 1990s is different from how things are done now. He said Ghanaians are now discerning so nobody can bully his way around. Mr. Kingsley Agyei stressed that the relationship between Mr. Rawlings and President Atta Mills has not broken down completely, because if Mr. Rawlings sees the opposition NPP campaigning vigorously to come back to power in 2012 he will make a 360 degree turn to join the NDC campaign trail. He urged elders of the NDC to immediately resolve their differences and forge ahead for victory in the 2012 elections, explaining it will be in the interest of the Rawlingses to be in power than to go to opposition. He said if they fail to resolve their differences, what happened to the Popular Front Party (PFP) between Paa Willie and Victor Owusu in 1979 will happen to the NDC and they will go to opposition again. Story by Akuamoah Boateng/Adom FM/Ghana