Accra, Ghana//-A former Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah has paid a growing tribute to late Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings (Rtd), Ghana’s first president of the Fourth Republic.
In a statement, Dr Omane Boamah said Mr Rawlings transitioned Ghana from dictatorship into a democracy in 1992. Some have said, “You had no choice/alternative” because the democratic forces in Ghana were too strong.
That’s a great argument, only true to an extent. But those who argue this way ignore both history and the present, he added.
Dr Omane Boamah who is also a medical doctor noted: “Presently, right here in West Africa to the west of Ghana in La Cote d’Ivoire, President Alhassane Ouattara has ousted democracy, supervised the alteration of their constitution and has won for himself a third consecutive term in office.
He won that election by a whopping 94%: to the admiration of the ghosts of Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Felix Houphouet-Boigny who ruled the same country for thirty-three years (1960 to 1993) until he died”.
Furthermore, in Togo the Gnassingbe dynasty continues. For fifty-four years altogether, the Presidency of Togo has only seen a Gnassingbé (Eyadéma from 1967 – 2005 and his son, handsome Faure from 2005…), he added.
Dr Omane Boamah continued: “In the past, Burkina Faso our northern neighbor also witnessed Blaise Compaoré who overthrew his progressive friend Captain Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara and led their country from 1987 to 2014.
Other leaders such as Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, Omar Bongo of Gabon (1967 – 2009), Eduardo Do Santos of Angola, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Paul Biya of Cameroon, Denis Sassau Nguesso of the Republic of Congo and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda who has been in charge of his country since the fall of Idi Amin and Milton Obote in 1986 and just claimed victory over Bobi Wine were also not great company and role models. But you did not emulate them”.
The late President Rawlings who opted for democracy wins him great praise. “Even though we had a difference over the style and direction of President Atta Mills’ governance – it was a disagreement borne out of principle and conviction. Nothing more; nothing less!”
As Ghana calls to mind your task on earth and you meet your maker, I wish you eternal rest in the bosom of Father Abraham where Lazarus who once was poor dwells, the former minister said.
The man J.J
The former leader popularly called “Papa J” passed on Thursday, 12 November, 2020, at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
He died almost five months after celebrating his 73rd birthday and less than three weeks after burying his mother, Victoria Agbotui.
He was a Ghanaian Military Officer and politician who led the country from 1981 to 2001 and also for a brief period in 1979.
He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the democratically elected President of Ghana from 1992 to 2000.
Upon his unexpected death, the nation and the international community went into shock, and in the tributes, recognized him for the many contributions to Ghana’s growth, especially as the Founder of the Fourth Republic.
Final burial rites
The final burial rites of former President Jerry John Rawlings have been scheduled to come off from January 24 to 27, a communique issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
It added that Mr Rawlings would be laid in state from January 24 to 26 at the Foyer of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) from 9 am to 5 pm daily.
There will also be a funeral mass on January 26, from 9 am to 11 am at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra.
A burial service for Ghana’s first president of the Fourth Republic will be held on January 27, from 9 am to 11 am at the Independence Square.
African Eye Report
