The story of former president of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings who passed on, Thursday November 12, 2020, after a brief illness is quite compelling for students of history and political science. He was 73.
Jerry Rawlings who was born in Accra on June 22, 1947, to a Ghanaian mother and a Scottish father started out quite early, carving a niche for himself in his chosen career.
Early Beginning
Young Rawlings was educated at Achimota School where he earned his General Certificate of Education ‘O’ Level(GCE) in 1966, and thereafter he was enlisted as a Flight Cadet in the Ghanaian Air Force the following year.
This took him to the officer cadet training at the Ghana Military Academy and Training School, Teshie, in Accra. In March 1968, he was posted to Takoradi in the Western Region in continuation of his training.
Following his success, Rawlings graduated in 1969, as a commissioned Pilot Officer. He also won the much sought after “Speed Bird Trophy” as the best cadet in flying and airmanship.
He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Flight-Lieutenant in April 1978. In the course of his distinguished military career with Ghana’s Air Force, he came face to face with massive decline in societal discipline, a fact which highlighted the level of corruption of the regime of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) at that time.
Interestingly, on May 28, 1979, Flt.-Lt. Rawlings, along with six others, appeared before a General Court Martial in Accra, charged with leading a mutiny of junior officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces on 15th May, 1979.
However, this development faced strong public condemnation, especially among the ranks and file of the Armed forces of Ghana.
His later Life, Politics and Administration
Consequently, at a date when he was scheduled for another court appearance on 4th June, 1979, Rawlings was surprisingly roared from detention, and with the help of many military and civilian supporters, young Rawlings led a revolt, which toppled the Ghana’s Supreme Military Council from office and brought the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) into power.
Significantly, the AFRC, under the leadership of Rawlings embarked upon a radical change in attitude and behaviour by purging societal corruption while restoring a sense of moral discipline, dignity and accountability.
However, on 24th September 1979, the AFRC handed over to the civilian Government of the People’s National Party (PNP) under the Presidency of Hilla Limann.
But two years after, precisely on December 31, 1981, Rawlings led a team of members of the Armed Forces to overthrow the administration of Limann and his PNP administration.
This led to the formation of a Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), with representatives drawn from both the civil and military establishments.
It had Rawlings as its chairman. However, Rawlings ceased to be a member of the Ghana Armed Forces effective September 14, 1992. He later floated the National Democratic Congress, which contested and won the 1992 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
He and his NDC repeated the same feat in the 1996 elections. Among his hobbies are reading, building model aircraft, horse-riding and swimming.
Until his death, Rawlings was married to Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and they both have four children – three girls and a boy.
Rawlings was a joint recipient of the 1993 World Hunger Prize. In addition, he held an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Medgar Evers College, City University of New York and Lincoln University Doctorate Degree for Diplomacy and Development, among others.
