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Two days to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential primaries in Sunyani to elect a flagbearer for election 2012, and former President Jerry John Rawlings has granted DAILY GUIDE an exclusive interview, where he bared it all. Speaking at his Ridge office on Wednesday evening, the 64-year-old retired Air Force officer shrugged off all criticisms and stated categorically that he is not a coward and therefore the barrage of insults and insinuations hurled at him will not stop what he described as his �constructive� analysis of the sitting government. According to Mr Rawlings, his long-standing experience in politics has exposed him to the realisation that attacks are part of the game; therefore he is not bothered when people decide to take him to the cleaners on a daily basis, especially in the media. The NDC founder said as a patriotic citizen, his heart bleeds whenever he sees �selfish and treacherous� people ransacking the country�s assets to the detriment of the ordinary Ghanaian. In this regard, Mr. Rawlings, wearing a grim face, stated emphatically that so long as he is alive, nothing, including insults and insinuations, would make him close his eyes and shut his mouth on the �rot� at the seat of government, the presidency. The former President, was for the first time, speaking exclusively to DAILY GUIDE at his Ridge office, during which he spoke on a wide range of issues including tomorrow�s NDC congress among other matters. Below is the one-hour interview with former President Rawlings DAILY GUIDE (DG): Good evening, Mr. Former President Rawlings: Good evening Joe Awuah DG: Sir, you look nice and strong in your white shirt this evening Rawlings: You too look good. I have heard a lot about you and I thought you were an elderly person. I did not know you are such a small boy. I will henceforth call you the �Dynamite� due to the way you write your stories. DG: Please sir, let�s go straight to business since you don�t have much time. As the founder of the party, are you happy that we have a leadership contest? Rawlings: Under our constitution, it is the democratic right of everyone (party member) to take up this challenge. It is unusual for this scenario to occur, but it is legitimate and happens when there is a vacuum, or a crisis. I am not happy, but it is necessary. There are people in the executive who are trying to redefine what the NDC is about and what the hardships of the masses are really about. For me, it is about points of principle and not a quest for power. DG: Sir, why is your dear wife, Nana Konadu, contesting President Mills now instead of waiting for her turn in 2016. Rawlings: This contest is not about Rawlings. It is about electing a formidable candidate who has paid her dues within the party. DG: Sir, how do you feel about the attacks on yourself and suggestions that you are irrelevant and should �keep quiet�? Rawlings: I am unperturbed by the attacks: They are cowardly and acts of people who are so intoxicated by power that they find it convenient to follow the cheap route to perpetuating their stay in power. Sadly, they simply represent the hidden faces of the real cowards. Chief, I will continue to criticize those who have refused to cleanse our country of the rot of the past government, have accepted the status quo and are even repeating some despicable actions of their predecessors. I am not a coward my brother and having received some of the worst accusations and attacks since I entered political office, I accept that it comes with the terrain. What I am convinced about is that we the NDC are different from the NPP and yet some of our actions are confusing people. True NDC supporters know what we stand for and this must never change irrespective of who tries to suggest otherwise. There is only one NDC. My major role as a founder and former President is to protect the interests of the good people of Ghana who deserve selfless and progressive leadership; not one characterized by hypocrisy, vindictiveness and a lack of political direction or vision as we have seen over the past decade. DG: Many people are interested in what your approach will be after the election results are announced. If Nana is declared the winner, do you believe she has the leadership qualities to work with President Mills as new leader of the party and unite the party? Rawlings: Nana�s leadership skills are indisputable. She has worked, campaigned and organized for our great party since 1992. Nana�s journey has not been in pursuit of power, but rather in that of bringing back the value systems that define the NDC. In standing for the position of vice chairman, she showed that she was prepared to work within and for the party. And it is out of frustration for the party�s prospects in 2012 that has brought her to this position. DG: There is a perception that this election of the NDC is about Rawlings trying to hold on to power and that is the reason for the former First Lady�s participation in this contest. How would you respond to that? Rawlings: This contest is not about Rawlings. It is about electing a formidable candidate who has paid her dues within the party, is a true advocate for the social democratic credentials of the NDC and an agent of national development. If that cap fits Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, it is due to her strength of character and her desire to always support the disadvantaged in society. The NDC has benefited immensely from the great efforts of Nana Konadu and her organization of hardworking and innovative women who have created awareness and equity for Ghanaian womanhood. The people of Ghana are looking up to the NDC to offer them a winnable candidate for 2012. Delegates should not have a difficulty in determining which of the two candidates really has the interest of the grassroots at heart. DG: There are some from GAME and the Presidency who have claimed that this whole contest is just a quest for power on the part of Nana Konadu and that she has always craved to be the President. What do you say to this? Rawlings: Every delegate and Ghanaian knows our history. They know of our battles, which involved other people who have sought to take control of the party (over the years) and the support I have given to President Mills and other party functionaries who have also come under threat from others within the party at various points. Everyone knows that my support for the people, I have mentioned, had always been based on points of principle and not personality. There has never been any thought of offering support for Nana before this time, which is why I have supported the Presidency over the period. It was never Nana�s aim to run for Presidency. It has taken the breakdown of values, of respect, the party structure and the neglect of the foot-soldiers for there to be this challenge and it is most welcome. DG: What do you see as the future of the party which you are the founder of, following this historic congress? Rawlings: Without a doubt, the interests of the nation must be at the core of the NDC�s actions following the outcome of the congress. The reality of the suffering of the people of Ghana must be addressed on a unified front. People must set aside their egos and personal interests, and focus on what it is that the people of Ghana have been calling for. The NDC must remember and make good the promises made to the electorate at the last election if there is to be any hope of success at the 2012 national elections. DG: Sir, what message do you have for the NDC delegates, who will be voting at the party�s congress in Sunyani Rawlings: They must vote with their conscience; they must vote for the true ideals of the NDC, which are probity, accountability, freedom and justice. They must vote to save the party from sliding into perpetual damnation in opposition. They know what has been fought for since the revolution and they have witnessed many attempts to separate the leadership of the party from the people and I believe they should know that would be the beginning of the end of the NDC. DG: Mr. former President, what is your take on the rigid accreditation process of the NDC congress and the prevention of the party�s supporters from being present at the event venue. Rawlings: I don�t understand why they have decided to make acquisition of accreditation for the event so rigid. The disqualification of non-delegates, with the exception of leading party figures and essential election officials at the event grounds, does not speak well about the NDC. I lay the blame for this mishap at the door-step of the party hierarchy who are scared of popular support for Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. The failure on the part of the party leadership to give the party�s grassroots supporters the opportunity to participate in this weekend�s national delegates� conference in Sunyani casts a slur on the party. It is unfortunate and disheartening that a party affair such as a delegates� congress to elect a flag-bearer has been shrouded in a cloak of concealment, leaving the grassroots supporters to observe the event from the media or third-party sources. They have more or less locked the conscience out of the stadium while giving accreditation to a sorry crowd to hail President Mills and misbehave towards others. As a mass-based party, it is imperative that we do not create an impression that we have lost our popular appeal. Failure by the party hierarchy to create an avenue for true supporters to partake in this congress will rob the congress of the atmosphere of camaraderie that characterized events of this nature in the past. The security agencies were shamelessly commandeered to barricade our teeming supporters during the 2010 delegates congress in Tamale and a repetition in Sunyani is surely not the way forward for the party. Our party members have a right to mingle with their leadership and the leadership should have no fear of such a presence. DG: The historic congress, which pitches incumbent President John Atta Mills against former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, has engendered huge debate and trading of accusations between the two camps. How do you react to this development? Rawlings: I am highly convinced the brouhaha over the contest has been deliberately engineered to create disaffection for the first Ghanaian female presidential aspirant. DG: Sir, so should the NDC loyalists across the country heed Nana Konadu�s call and storm Sunyani in their numbers during the congress? Rawlings: Certainly that is the best thing for them to do. Even if they do not get access to the congress grounds, at least they should be in Sunyani because they are the pillars of the party. Our supporters have a right to be in Sunyani to show their support and offer a strong sense of direction to delegates, some of whom may be swayed by considerations other than the popular will of the people for real change. The people of Ghana voted for change in 2008 and expected the restoration of true freedom and justice but we have allowed the adrenalin to dissipate into an atmosphere of pain and despondency.