Major Sulemana Abubakari (Rtd) who is now the paramount Chief of Tolon in the Northern Region has asked Ghanaians to pray for late President Jerry John Rawlings.
The former president, he stated, needs forgiveness from God for the mistakes and bad things that have been associated with him during his tenure in office as leader of a military junta and subsequently a democratically elected president.
According to Naa Sulemana Abubakari, Mr. Rawlings may not necessarily have authorised the killings of some individuals in the country and the dastardly acts that were proclaimed against him whilst he was in office as the Head of State.
“I strongly believe that Rawlings didn’t just get up and gave orders for these people to be killed, somebody beneath organised it. The man loved people and how could such a man give orders for people to be killed? Some people did that in his name.
“All the evil things that were done during his period, unfortunately, it’s just like I have the power, I have the money, I put you there and I come to tell you to do something, can you refuse and that is exactly what happened to him”, he pointed out.
In an interview with THE CUSTODIAN following the sudden death of Ghana’s first President in the Fourth Republic, Naa Sulemana Abubakari believes Mr. Rawlings was forced and pushed to do certain dirty things during his tenure and that, “Allah will tell what happened.”
He maintained that, “Unfortunately, the devils that were forcing him to do some of these bad things are still around, we should look out for them, they are still around.”
According to him, “You will realize that, when you dig deep into the NDC, they are the same people causing the mess for John Mahama. They’ve still got their revolutionary caps and other things to pay back, I don’t like this tribe, I don’t like this one; they are the people, they are underground and if God wishes now that Rawlings is no more some of them will start coming up and we will know the truth.”
The outspoken Chief added that, “Everything that has been associated with him (Rawlings), I am very sure God will forgive him.”
Meanwhile, Major Sulemana also refuted the age-long public assertion that he tortured the late President and removed his finger nails before the June 4, 1979 coup.
“I wish he could come back and show you his fingers, they are all lies. If they tortured him at the M.R area I don’t know but when I picked him from the Air Force Base to my office, reported to my commander Odartey Wallington and he asked the M.R to come for him but I made sure that no regiment officer torched Rawlings” he emphasised.
The former Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) died last Friday November 13, 2020 after a short illness at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
Accordingly, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced a 7-day nationwide mourning of the former President and directed all national flags to fly at half-mast for the period.
