Son of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, Dr. Sekou Nkrumah has lashed out at persons comparing his father with Jerry John Rawlings, noting that while his father had intellectual depth and was ideologically strong, Jerry John Rawlings was merely a “brute” who lacked intellectual prowess.
Sekou Nkrumah insists that there is a gulf between his father’s legacy as leader of Ghana and that of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, claiming that apart from the support of the masses for both leaders, Rawlings cannot be compared to Kwame Nkrumah.
“Nkrumah had intellectual depth and was ideologically strong! JJ on the other hand was empty, just a brute.
To compare the two as individuals is very sad and shocking (go and read Nkrumah’s numerous political books! JJ could not even write one),” he stressed
His comments are as a result of comparisons being made between Kwame Nkrumah and JJ Rawlings in the aftermath of the burial of Rawlings. Some people had stated that the only there was a similarity between the ideals and ideologies of Kwame Nkrumah and JJ Rawlings. But Sekou Nkrumah has said that such a comparison is without basis, describing it as “very sad and shocking”.
Full statement of Sekou Nkrumah
My final words on JJ, and why he should not be compared to Nkrumah!
Nkrumah’s vision was bigger than Ghana. It is the pan African agenda that had two main thrusts: first the decolonization of Africa, secondly the continental unity.
If you don’t understand that vision you will misunderstand all that Nkrumah stood for.
The West and their interests overthrew Nkrumah. Look at the bigger picture and you will better comprehend Nkrumah’s political struggle.
Now it is the same West that forced Rawlings’ hand to turn to democracy (he himself said he does not believe in democracy). JJ had no choice than to play ball, the whole world by the early 1990s was turning in that direction.
True, today Ghana is practicing democracy but are we developed economically? Are our resources not still exploited? Can we industrialized?
You see I am prepared to overlook JJ‘s early atrocities but he himself lost his way when he made his famous u-turn and ended up as a puppet to the World Bank and IMF, and in a sense betrayed the revolution.
For me Nkrumah was a much better option, but they (the West) did not allow it!
Nkrumah had intellectual depth and was ideologically strong! JJ on the other hand was empty, just a brute.
To compare the two as individuals is very sad and shocking (go and read Nkrumah’s numerous political books! JJ could not even write one).
It is their support base that makes them stand together (their political constituency was the ordinary Ghanaian).
I stand with them for social justice, but I am not naive to struggle with telling the difference between the two men. It is a huge gap that to pretend not to see it, is the height of intellectual dishonesty or maybe just old plain ignorance.
