Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings was at it again yesterday, stripping the man he campaigned tooth and nail for, of all vestiges of reverence.
By the time he finished explaining his opinion about the performance of President John Evans Atta Mills after the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting yesterday, he had done so much collateral damage to him that all the members of the opposition can say is, “there we are.â€Â
While we do not begrudge him the right to express his opinions on issues dear to his heart, we think that the man has simply refused to grow with the passage of time.
For a man of his stature – former President of the Republic – there should be some finesse in the manner in which he treats issues of public interest.
In dealing with the President of the Republic – a man in whom he reposed so much confidence that he chose to be the flagbearer of the party he considers a personal property – there is the exigent need for him to show maximum decorum.
The NDC of which he is a founder does not belong to him as a private property as he erroneously thinks.
The party, having satisfied the demands of the Political Party Laws of the country, has been duly registered as such.
Having gone through the aforementioned procedures, the political grouping has become a public entity expected to be run in conformity with existing legislations.
It would be untoward therefore on the part of the ex-President to continue to consider the party as a sort of fiefdom where his wishes must prevail over all others.
Indeed what ex-President Rawlings seeks to have is a President Mills making life unbearable for all who do not belong to the ruling party and acting with total disregard for the laws of the land.
This would certainly be inimical to the development of democracy in the country.
President Mills is already under copious flak from a section of the media and many Ghanaians because of his somewhat proclivity to dictates of ex-President Rawlings.
In spite of this eagerness to satisfy the man regarded as his mentor, President Mills has still fallen short of pleasing the one-time President of the Republic.
We wonder therefore what ex-President Rawlings wants his one-time Darling Boy to do under the circumstances.
President Mills has committed a number of constitutional blunders already and we think that further tilting to the dictates of ex-President Rawlings would be facilitating his political demise.
It is too early in the day for us to witness such demise on the part of the President who needs the peace of mind to prove his mettle.
Yesterday’s outbursts, though not surprising, were not good for the morale of the people who were appointed by the President to serve as ministers and deputies.
Such appointments demand maximum confidence on the part of the office holders but in the face of the vote of no-confidence passed by an overbearing party founder on them, all we can expect from them is fumbling and wobbling from their respective portfolios.
Should we shed tears for the only President we have in the country? Certainly no.
Author Dailyguide