The former President Of Ghana Jerry John Rawlins met with a delegation of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) led by its Chairman, Colonel Assimi Goïta  in Ghana city  Accra Sep. 16, 2020.  It was Colonel Goita’s first foreign trip since he seized power on 18 August.   (Credit: Office of Jerry John Rawlings) 

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Perhaps the former President of Ghana Mr. Jerry John Rawlings will have more luck than Nigeria’s ex-president Goodluck Jonathan to mediate a viable solution to the political crisis in west African nation Mali.   In July, Jonathan  was appointed by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, as a special envoy to lead the sub-regional body’s mediation mission in Mali to try and  resolve the worsening socio-political situation in the  country.  Jonathan failed miserably as group of military officers, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), seized control of the country  on August 18 when the mutineers detained President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta at gunpoint and forced him to resign.  The international community voiced deep concern over the military takeover, which could further destabilize the West African region.   Now Mr. Rawlings, a former military and political leader in Ghana,  who was twice head of state, enters the scene to help find a solution to the political crisis in Mali.  A statement issued by the Office of Mr Rawlings said, he urged the Malian leadership to mobilise their people into taking up productive activity through a positive vision to boost the country’s development.  Mr. Rawlings also advised them to empower and encourage the people to own their political climate and to improve on the quality of multiparty democracy that Western powers “have hung around our necks”.   A Four-man delegation of the CNSP led by its Chairman, Colonel Assimi Goïta  recently called on the former Ghanaian President  in the capital Accra.   According to the  African Courier,   the former Ghanaian leader “warned the Malian military rulers to avoid falling into the trap of seeking personal gains as it’s often happened in Africa’s history of military officers seizing power to curb corruption and bad governance only to turn to corrupt despots themselves.”  Instead, Rawlings encouraged the transitional regime to govern with humility and diligence and inspire the people to fight and defy corruption and injustice. 

“The level of corruption that has become an integral part of multiparty democracy has created a general climate of stress and tension that may destabilise some areas in our region. It is unfortunate that the world is being forced into multiparty democracy with corruption and violence rather than other forms of democratic practices with none or minimal corruption. Unfortunately, the West appears to favour corruptible political tendencies in order to continue to dominate our security and economy,”

-Former Ghanaian leader  His Excellency Jerry J. Rawlings

Jerry Rawlings: An Apostle of Justice, and Hero of The Working  Class

A Four-man delegation of the Mali  CNSP led by its Chairman, Colonel Assimi Goïta called on the former Ghanaian President  Jerry Rawlings last Tuesday in the capital Accra.  (Credit: Office of Jerry John Rawlings) 

The GhanaWeb referred to Rawlings as an “apostle of justice”,  opining that,  besides Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, no political leader has had much impact on Ghanaians as Rawlings. “He has influenced the lives and souls of Ghanaians and Africans more than any living politicians today.”  Rawlings was well known for embracing diversity and religious tolerance.  So, now, perhaps this  revered African leader can help  bring peace to Mali.  Time will tell.