Rawlings Mystique, Fear, Love and Fatigue

He is an enigma, Rawlings is. Some love him. Some hate him. Some will die for him. Some wish him gone. Some understand him. Some wonder – W-H-A-T? Life is a mystery. It’s not every puzzle you can solve. So some things should just be left in the realm of mystery. Yet, on Saturday, July 9, ‘Congress TV Day’, we witnessed a fascinating phenomenon in Ghana’s history. The Rawlings Mystique seemed to have melted away and gave way to Rawlings Fatigue. Or, it didn’t?

The fear factor:

A few weeks ago during the celebration of the June 4 uprising, Flight Lt. turned ex-President, served notice for yet another ‘boom’ speech during the NDC Congress at which his beloved wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, was contesting the sitting President, Evans Atta Mills. My head ached.

I bet that I’m not the only Ghanaian who has been suffering from Rawlings Fatigue. My daughter Darkoa, who migrated out of Ghana at the young age of 12 and recently relocated back home, remarked a few months ago after 17 years sojourn abroad: ‘Mama, when I was growing up in Ghana, Rawlings ruled supreme. He still reigns supreme. Why?’ I couldn’t answer.

How could one person overbearingly be preaching and yelling at a country for a generation and not get tired of his own voice? How could one person come across as the only one who knows what is right for a country that he ruled for a whopping 19½ years, the longest-serving leader of  Ghana? During the Rawlings regime, fear reigned. Bullying, intimidation, persecutions, kangaroo courts, culture of silence – were the order of the time. Now, Rawlings fatigue appears to have set in for the citizenry. Or it hasn’t?

Did she or did she not?

A confession. I cry when something goes wrong in my life. I even cry when I’m very happy. Don’t ask me why. Crying is something I do to get in touch with my feminine side. Tear drops and estrogen are lovely bedfellows.

So the grand question is: Did Konadu cry as she left the Sunyani Coronation Park that did not coronate her (Mother and co-founder of the NDC, the one and only legitimate Madam of our land, women champion extraordinaire of the 31^st December Women’s Movement), as flag-bearer? As she and hubby JJ sneaked out quietly in plain view on the long awkward historic walk out of the congress grounds, what went through their minds? What conversations have they had? Did the coincidence of 3.1 per cent and 31^st December hold back the tears but not the jeers? Oh, the magic power of numbers!

Much as I so badly desire for a woman to become President of Ghana (since for 54 years – still counting, the male leadership has not served us much), a Konadu presidency has not tickled me – at all. She has been in the cushy bed of power for so long to the point that she has learned to be bold. She has, over the years, authored her own narrative, some of which is not endearing; because it is decorated by fear.

But tied to the Konadu presidency would have come a certain Jerry John as First Gentleman. That is a no brainer! And, that has been a problem for many. Jerry John Rawlings is a wise man – nay, the wisest man in Ghana! The storied couple is Ghana’s prima donna, the epicentre of power, a state-within-a-state, our royal celebrity high-octane sweetheart couple decorated with a gold-platted triple-AAA rating.

For two decades, this country lived under the thumb of Mr Rawlings, while Konadu grew mightily in power. From the brief but ruthless AFRC days, through the long haul of PNDC and NDC1 administrations, the storied couple was glued to the centre of Ghana; an imposition.

In the past few weeks, some radio stations did an excellent job of playing back Rawlings’s voice – from his grand holier-than-thou entrance onto the Ghanaian scene through his many reincarnations with a crescendo to the last celebration of June 4^th uprising last month. Of course the voice had aged over the years, but one unmistakably single thread runs through: the shrill yelling commanding know-all characteristic in his tone – Blunt, Blustery and Bombastic (BBB).

The Fatigue! At long last!
Who would ever have thought that an NDC crowd, the Rawlings party folks, who have always adored the prima donna pair, would come any close to hooting at Rawlings and his wife, the king and queen (the father/founder and mother) of their party? I’ve been trying to identify the 90 people who voted for Konadu. The NDC did not treat the couple fairly. What a betrayal to embarrass the founder and mother!

Probably, the Rawlings mystique has long departed but they were too slow to read the signs, the glaring handwriting on the wall. When they began the awkward walk out of the congress grounds, they were by that act, acknowledging that the people who have always adored them were finally fatigued of them. The welcome, the tolerance, was finally over. Or wasn’t it?

But clearly, it’s not only NDC people who are tired of the Rawlingses. Rank and file Ghanaians are also suffering from Rawlings fatigue because they’ve been on the scene for far too long. NPP fatigue, floating-voter fatigue and the unlikely NDC fatigue have set in. The party he founded after boldly dropping the P (Provisional) from the PNDC to form his NDC, had over the years, become fatigued of his ranting and yelling and the need to rule and be in charge and control? W-H-A-T?

Times change. Now, from last week’s defeat by a mere John Mills, it’s apparent (likely?) that the fear we had for the Rawlingses may be gone! Thirty years ago, I would not have dreamt – nay, I would not have dared – to think of the content of this article. But now, my sleeping place will not change for writing this (in a state-owned newspaper!). I’ll not be the recipient of an ‘identification haircut.’ Times have truly changed.

Have you been healed of the Rawlings mystique, gone beyond fear, or you’re just fatigued? Freedom, you’re so sweet! The Rawlings myth is finally broken. Hasn’t it? The voice of the late Martin Luther King Jr., the American civil rights leader, rings true here: ‘Free at last! Free at last. Thank God almighty, we’re free at last!’

Why the Rawlingses never thought that they would ever over-stay their welcome is in itself shocking. That’s just the law of nature: whatever goes up comes down. Even charisma can wear off. It is not a matter of ding dong ding. But, the fact still remains that many still love them and may want to die for them. Those who love them truly love them. The enigma!

Enduring Questions: Would the beloved couple ever varnish from the public space? Who is this man who was born and bred (bread) and buttered in Ghana who does not sound like a Ghanaian? Why does JJ have an affected accent? How did he acquire it? Is it a Locally-Affected Acquired Foreign Accent (LAAFA) or it’s just your middle-of-the-road Blood Acquired Accent (BAA)? Go figure! No shaky, babe!