Veteran media personality Kwaku Sintim-Misa (KSM) has revealed that former President Jerry John Rawlings was initially reluctant to relinquish power after years of military rule.
Speaking on his political show on YouTube, monitored by NewsNetGh, KSM recalled an instance when Rawlings was asked if he planned to hand over power.
His response, according to KSM, was, “Hand over power to who?”
Rawlings, who first ruled as a military leader under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), reportedly believed he was the best person to lead Ghana at the time.
To ensure continuity in governance, he and his allies formed the National Democratic Congress (NDC), enabling him to contest the 1992 elections as a civilian.
KSM pointed out that the NDC, at its inception, was widely perceived as a mere extension of the PNDC. “People said he had just removed the ‘P’ so he could run as a civilian,” he remarked.
Despite these concerns, Rawlings won the 1992 elections, becoming Ghana’s first president under the Fourth Republic and laying the foundation for the country’s democratic transition.