For the first time in the history of post-independence Ghana, former President Jerry John Rawlings has rated himself as the best in terms of performance.
Mr Rawlings�s white washing of his administration comes on the heels of recent claims by President Atta Mills�s apologists that the law professor is the best thing to have happened to Ghana.
The NDC founder�s longest stint as president, two decades, according to him, was unsurpassed as regards his ability to empower Ghanaians and carry them along.
Former President Rawlings, whose self-rating is set to provoke debates on the political spectrum, boasted when he granted an interview to a South African-based television channel, Etv.
The basis for his rating, he pointed out, was in the judiciary and, as he put it, the empowerment of Ghanaians, explaining that these qualified him as the best among the pack.
He told his host, �To be quite honest, I don�t know any other type of leadership that wants to bring the best out of people�I will cite instances, the progress that was made within the judiciary, when people actually, you know, felt that they owned the political atmosphere.�
The former Air Force pilot who surfaced on the political scene through a coup has constantly chided politicians before him for not allowing accountability to prevail and the non-involvement of many persons in the decision-making process.
He soon endeared himself to a section of the people when he related to them and created the impression in them that he would change their living standards by ensuring equity in the sharing of the national cake.
His interview with the South African television network contained traces of his relatively youthful revolutionary days when he, for instance, mentioned that he held on to power because he was in the process of empowering the people, adding that he did this with the conviction that when the people were so empowered, they could not be taken for a ride.
As to whether he sidelined the Ashantis and some Ewes and even disposed off some Akan ministers, �causing a great divide in government�, during the revolutionary segment of his stint in governance, he denied the charge, explaining that there were documents and personalities from both the revolutionary period and opposition to prove him on the issue.
For those who have always complained about why the gentleman held on to power for so long, he explained that it was on purpose because, as he put it, he intended to use the period to build the capacity so that the people would not be taken for a ride.
This reminded those with a sense of local history about the revolutionary days� mantra of �we no go sit down make them cheat us.�
He said, �I lasted for many years not because I was using the coercive machinery, but because we were empowering the people. Having become empowered, the people will demand accountability from you, will demand transparency from you, will demand integrity from you. How many of us in this position are prepared to render accountability to the people?�
�That is the difference. That is why they have a problem with Rawlings, and have to misrepresent him to make it seem as if he is divisive. He is so and so; he is so and so. No! Rawlings believes in accountability, he believes in transparency, eh believes in the empowerment of the people,� he charged.
His spokesperson, Kofi Adams, speaking on Citi FM yesterday, dared anybody with proof that his boss was involved in any murderous activity, when he led both the AFRC and PNDC juntas, to provide such evidence.
He explained that Mr. Rawlings never did any such thing when he led the country.
According to him, �Not a single person has so far proven that President Rawlings took a knife or a gun, threw or shot somebody to kill that person.�
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