Rawlings’ rise to power was hatred for the rich – Sekou Nkrumah

Dr. Sekou Nkrumah, one of the sons of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, has indicated that the rise of former President Jerry John Rawlings was characterised by his hatred for those who are well-to-do in society.

This is because the late NDC leader even though had the support of the grassroots, did not have a genuine concern for the welfare of the ordinary Ghanaian.

In a post on his Facebook timeline, Dr. Nkrumah stated further that Rawlings, while alive as the Head of State failed to build capacity -knowledge and understanding of the socioeconomic issues he always trumpeted.

“Sitso, the Rawlings video is interesting, but I have a lot of concerns.
The last bit about the plate of food taken from the poor man exposes JJ’s bankrupt intellect, like so many street smart people he parrots what others have said, and takes bits and pieces from discussions he had with others (more enlightened).

“But I will admit that he was handsome (in his younger days) and very charismatic. I was in form four in 1979, so was too young to fully comprehend what was going on.

“But as I grew older ( I left Ghana in 1981 and returned in 1989) I started to doubt his honesty. I will concede that he had the support of the grassroots and he also spoke for them, but I strongly believe that his rise to power was more motivated by personal hatred for the rich in our society, rather than a genuine concern for the welfare of the ordinary man,” Dr. Nkrumah said in his post.

He continued: “Another concern is that JJ failed to build capacity (knowledge and understanding of the socioeconomic issues he talks about). Leadership of the less privileged ( working class) must be well informed and educated to serve, otherwise, it becomes just a populist platform. The decade of revolutionary politics is in question here!

“So to your question, the Rawlings factor, I will say it does not matter anymore and his legacy will fade quickly.

“Simply put the lack of depth will not sustain it!”